What was Justin Verlander's salary for the 2022 season? | MLB Contracts

Justin Verlander is the presumptive Cy Young award winner with the Houston Astros after an impressive bounce-back campaign. The pitcher had Tommy John surgery the year before and no one suspected that he'd post a sub-2.00 ERA this past season.

Ahead of his potential free agency, it's pertinent to know what kind of contract he received from the Astros last time. The contract that he signed last year was for two years and $50 million, so Verlander made $25 million this past MLB season.

His salary in 2022 made him the seventh-highest paid pitcher in baseball. He was behind the following:

• Max Scherzer, $43.33 million
• Gerritt Cole, $36 million
• Stephen Strasburg, $35 million
• Trevor Bauer, $34 million
• David Price, $31 million
• Chris Sale, $29 million

It also made him the 23rd highest-paid player in all of baseball. His next contract will more than likely be significantly higher, since he's coming off a potentially award-winning campaign.

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What might Justin Verlander's salary look like next year?

The former Astros pitcher will have his pick of suitors this offseason if he elects to enter free agency. Despite being 40 years old and having Tommy John surgery very recently, he should be in incredibly high demand.

His $25 million salary from last year was impressive, but it will be much higher than that next year with his new team or with the Astros if they retain him, assuming he opts out like expected.

Both he and Jacob deGrom have a market value of over $41 million, according to Spotrac. That more than likely means he will get upwards of that, though it will probably be on another very short-term contract, since he is rapidly getting close to retirement age.

Depending on who signs him, he may see a two-year, $90 million contract or a one-year contract worth as much as $50 million. A team may overpay for a year of his services.

Either way, the pitcher's next MLB salary will be significantly larger than his previous one thanks to an 18-4 season with 185 strikeouts and a sterling 1.75 ERA.

Winning the Cy Young award, which Verlander is favored to do again, will only improve his salary next year.