Astros' Updated Rotation, Payroll After Reported Justin Verlander Trade with Mets

What's old is new again.

Justin Verlander is headed back to the Houston Astros after the New York Mets traded him to the American League West contender ahead of Tuesday's deadline, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. Passan shared the full details of the trade that also included prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford:

Verlander is signed through the 2024 season with a vested option for 2025. His base salary is $43.3 million for this season and next season, and his vested option of $35 million will kick in for 2025 if he pitches 140 innings in 2024.

The right-hander will be added to an Astros team with an active total payroll of $196.3 million, per Spotrac, although Houston will not have to pay the entirety of his deal:

This is not the first time Houston acquired Verlander. The Astros landed him in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in 2017, and he pitched for the team through 2022 before joining the Mets this past offseason.

FanGraphs shared the rotation he will now anchor for the stretch run of the 2023 campaign:

• Justin Verlander

• Framber Valdez

• Cristian Javier

• Hunter Brown

• J.P. France

The 40-year-old was solid this season for the Mets with a 3.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 81 strikeouts in 94.1 innings. While there is certainly nothing wrong with those numbers, they pale in comparison to last year in Houston when he won the American League Cy Young with a 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 175 innings.

It was the third Cy Young of his career, adding to a list of accolades that also includes an American League MVP, an AL Rookie of the Year, two World Series crowns, two ERA titles and nine All-Star selections.

If Verlander returns to the form he demonstrated in 2021, the Astros will be even more dangerous in their postseason chase.

They are 60-47 and a half-game behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West and one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot. Yet they now have a familiar ace at their disposal as they attempt to secure their postseason position.