New York Mets Reportedly Could Trade Verlander to Rangers at Deadline

The New York Mets won’t be .500 or better at the trade deadline of Aug. 1. But it’s hard to read where they’re headed as the trade deadline approaches.

Will the Mets sell? Will they buy anyway? Will they do a little bit of both?

MLB.com filed a report on Thursday night that indicated that it’s starting to look more likely the Mets might try to trade Justin Verlander at the deadline. That report is based on sourcing from two MLB executives.

If that’s the case, then the Mets would be looking to unload Verlander’s huge contract —$86,666,666 million through 2024. The contract even comes with a conditional $35 million in 2025. He’s not cheap. He’s also 40. He also won the American League Cy Young award last year. And has two others on his mantle.

Who would be interested in that? Well, MLB.com believes an American League contender would be the front runner for his services:

The frontrunner for Verlander, according to one source, would likely be the Rangers, who are said to be seeking rotation help and are taking an aggressive approach to the Trade Deadline. It should be noted that Texas pursued Verlander last winter, but the pitcher expressed no interest in joining the Rangers, who were coming off of their sixth consecutive losing season.

The Rangers reportedly tried to court Verlander in the offseason, but the Rangers were coming off six straight losing seasons. Now the Rangers lead the AL West by two games over Verlander’s former team, the Houston Astros.

By the way, MLB.com linked the Astros to Verlander, too.

Should the Mets seek to move Verlander, it looks like the Lone Star State would be a potential destination.