Justin Verlander Says Mets Haven't Approached Him About Trade amid Deadline Rumors

Starting pitcher Justin Verlander said Tuesday that the New York Mets have not discussed with him the possibility of trading him prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

According to Laura Albanese of Newsday, Verlander added that he prefers to remain a Met and suggested that he plans to be with the team beyond this season, saying, "I didn't sign a one-year deal."

The Mets could find themselves as surprise sellers by the Aug. 1 deadline, as they currently sit at 47-53 and are seven games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.

After spending parts of the previous six years with the Houston Astros and winning two World Series and two American League Cy Young awards while there, Verlander somewhat surprisingly signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the Mets during the offseason.

Verlander made a big career change at the age of 40, and thus far it hasn't translated into much team success.

While Verlander missed some time this season on the injured list with a low-grade shoulder strain, he has been solid when healthy across 15 starts.

The future Hall of Famer is 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 76 strikeouts over 89 innings.

While the numbers aren't bad, they do pale in comparison to what Verlander did last season with the Astros when he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 185 strikeouts en route to his third career Cy Young.

One potential cause for concern is that Verlander is averaging just 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which is his lowest mark since he was with the Detroit Tigers in 2015.

Still, contending teams would likely line up to trade for Verlander if he is made available due to his immense amount of playoff and big-game experience.

It is unclear if the Mets would be willing to make that type of move, though, as owner Steve Cohen has been clear about his intentions to compete for a World Series, and trading Verlander would be a sign that it won't happen in 2023.

However, even if the Mets keep Verlander, they have a massive uphill climb ahead of them to secure a wild-card spot and would likely need to be one of the best teams in baseball down the stretch to make it happen.

If the Mets haven't closed the gap on a playoff spot by Aug. 1, trading Verlander is something they at least have to consider due to the prospect package he would likely command in a trade.

Should the Mets keep Verlander, it would be a sign that they aren't giving up on this season and have every intention of making a World Series run next season as well.