OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL
Houston Astros rotation taking shape after latest signing
Jan 8, 2025, 12:44 pm
Justin Verlander is joining the Giants. Composite Getty Image.
Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal was pending a physical.
It's the latest big move by new Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey since he was hired in September to replace Farhan Zaidi.
San Francisco also signed free agent shortstop Willy Adames to a $182 million, seven-year contract in December.
This will be the 20th major league season for Verlander, a three-time AL Cy Young Award winner who turns 42 next month. He would join a Giants rotation led by All-Star righty Logan Webb.
Verlander went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for the AL West champion Houston Astros last year. He opened the season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. He also was on the IL from June 18 to Aug. 21 because of neck discomfort.
The right-hander had a 9.26 ERA in five September starts and was left off Houston’s postseason roster when the team was swept by Detroit in an AL Wild Card Series. He became a free agent after he failed to pitch 140 innings, a total that would have triggered his ability to exercise a $35 million conditional player option.
After the Astros were eliminated from the playoffs, Verlander said he thought he had "a lot more to give” next season and beyond.
“I definitely feel like I want to continue to pitch and compete and I’m not ready to step away yet,” he said in October.
Verlander, a Virginia native who played college ball at Old Dominion, was selected by Detroit with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 amateur draft. He made his big league debut with the Tigers in 2005.
The 6-foot-5 ace spent his first 12-plus seasons with Detroit. He won his first Cy Young Award and was voted AL MVP after he went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA in 2011.
He was traded to Houston in August 2017 and helped the team capture the franchise’s first World Series title that same year. He won two more Cy Young Awards and another championship during his first stint with the Astros.
Verlander signed an $86.7 million, two-year contract with the New York Mets as a free agent in December 2022. The nine-time All-Star made 16 starts for New York before he was traded back to Houston for two minor leaguers.
Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA in 526 career starts. He is baseball’s active leader in wins, strikeouts (3,416), innings (3,415 2/3), starts and complete games (26). He also has a 17-12 record with a 3.58 ERA in 38 career postseason appearances.
Projected 2025 Astros rotation
Framer Valdez
Hunter Brown
Ronel Blanco
Spencer Arrighetti
Hayden Wesneski
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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