After nearly a decade away from the Motor City, three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander is reportedly returning to the place where it all began.
On Tuesday, the soon-to-be 43-year-old right-hander inked a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers — the team that drafted him in 2004 and where he spent 13 seasons establishing himself as one of the best pitchers of all-time.
Verlander has spent the last eight seasons taking the mound for the Astros, Mets and Giants. Now he's coming back to Comerica Park where ace Tarik Skubal was happy to welcome him home.
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Tarik Skubal welcomes Justin Verlander back to Tigers
Taking to social media shortly after the announcement of the Verlander news, Skubal posted a celebratory GIF of Justin from his earlier Tigers days celebrating in the dugout. And fans were just as hyped:
Tigers have gone from pitching chaos and bullpen days to having 7 legit starters on the staff. Idk what the rotation is going to look like, but it’s going to be awesome to watch," a user said. "#EatEmUp."
"Skubal seems to approve," MLB Trade Rumors replied.
"The two greatest Tigers pitchers of my lifetime are going to be in the same rotation this year. I’m f—king AMPED," a fan shared.
"I have no idea what this season will bring, but we're going to get some great moments," Trevor McCue posted.
"My eyes are sweating."
"Stop, I’m going to cry," another fan commented.
Justin Verlander contract details revealed
According to ESPN.com, Verlander and the Tigers came to terms on a one-year, $13 million deal after experiencing some highs and lows in San Francisco last season.
He now joins a Tigers rotation that boasts a back-to-back AL Cy Young winner in Skubal as well as recent free agent acquisition Framber Valdez, with whom Verlander was a teammate of in Houston.
Last January, Verlander signed with the Giants for one-year, $15 million but was not able to receive a qualifying offer from SF after getting one from the Astros in 2021. So there won't be any draft compensation, or penalty for Detroit signing him.
Verlander has gone on-record that he'd like to pitch until he's 45. Just a couple years away from that, he's currently MLB's active leader in wins (266), strikeouts (3,553) and innings pitched (3567.2).