Justin Verlander Predicted To Surprisingly Land With New AL Team

Justin Verlander has drawn interest from several teams, including familiar ones, but his free agency remains open.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer predicted that the Texas Rangers could swoop in and sign the future Hall of Famer.

“The Baltimore Orioles are interested in Justin Verlander, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, and popular speculative landing spots include three of his former teams: the San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros,” Rymer wrote on Monday. “So why the Rangers? Well, why not the Rangers? President of baseball operations Chris Young is a former pitcher who has based the Rangers’ whole identity around starting pitching.”

“The club’s rotation led the league in ERA last year, and is set to consist of an intimidating front three of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and MacKenzie Gore,” Rymer continued. “There is some uncertainty in terms of durability with that trio, though, and the back end of the rotation has questions of its own. By bringing aboard a legend like Verlander, Texas would be both solidifying its rotation and tripling down on its identity.”

Verlander posted another solid season in 2025, maintaining a 3.85 ERA. His storied career since 2005 with the Tigers, Astros, Mets, and Giants includes over 3,000 strikeouts, three Cy Youngs, an MVP, and two World Series rings.