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The decision to pay Justin Verlander a massive contract to boost the New York Mets into true contender status backfired in 2023. The team ended up trading the ace back to his former team and eating a large portion of his record salary. The Mets were not contenders at all and had to cut bait, but it cost them.
It could cost them even more. They signed the player for two seasons. While he only lasted half of one in the Big Apple, his contract remains and they have to pay part of it. That gets worse if he hits an innings milestone in 2024.
Per MLB insider Bob Nightengale, there's a key option for Verlander if he pitches over 140 innings for the Houston Astros. That's less than ideal for the Mets:
"Pardon the Mets for hoping that Verlander doesn’t pitch 140 innings this season for the Astros, which would trigger a $35 million option that vests in 2025. And if it vests, the Mets will have to pay half of the contract at $17.5 million."
If Verlander pitches that many innings or more, he has a vesting option that would cost the Mets another $17.5 million, which would be rubbing salt in their wound and costing them probably more than a year after they decided to ship him off.
Will Justin Verlander pitch 140 innings in 2024?
The New York Mets are hoping Justin Verlander pitches 139 or fewer innings for the Houston Astros, but their hopes may be in vain. 140 innings isn't a huge total for a workhorse pitcher at the top of a rotation.
The last time (not including the 2020 shortened season) that Verlander failed to make that metric was in 2015 with the Detroit Tigers. In his 18-year MLB career, the veteran pitcher hasn't hit 140 or more innings in three seasons.
That includes 2020 and his debut season in which he appeared in two games total. He's almost a lock to hit that, as he did so last year despite missing the first bit of the season with injury.
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