Detroit Tigers trade rumors: Justin Verlander drawing interest from mystery team

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander is drawing trade interest from a new team, according to a report by Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Trade interest in Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander has seemed to wane in recent weeks, but a new report suggests that a new team has entered the fray. Jon Morosi of MLB Network had the report on Twitter.

It’s hard to gauge the veracity of the report with so few details, but the timing makes sense. Verlander will need to be on another team’s roster by midnight on Thursday (Aug. 31) if he is to be eligible for their postseason roster. This makes this week a trade deadline of sorts.

Verlander started the season slowly and carried a 4.73 ERA into the All-Star break. His strikeout rate was down and his walk rate was up which made his expensive contract a massive hurdle at the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July. A few teams might be willing to add an expensive starter if he could help them get to, and compete in, the playoffs, but few are looking to break the bank for a marginally effective bullpen piece.

Verlander has rebounded in the second half, however, where he’s posted a 2.49 ERA in nine starts with a strikeout rate north of 10 per nine innings and a walk rate of 2.2 per nine innings while holding opposing batters to a .188 average. He’s more or less the guy he’s always been in his illustrious career, and that’s a guy who could be a big asset in the postseason.

His contract is still a huge hurdle. Verlander is owed $56 million for the 2018 and 2019 seasons and carries a vesting option in his contract for 2020. The $22 million vesting option isn’t really part of the calculus because he needs to finish in the top five of Cy Young Award voting for it to trigger (and if he does that the team is going to want it triggered more than Verlander will, probably). Still, $56 million over two years is a lot of money.

Next: Detroit Tigers All-Time 25-man Roster

The Tigers are rebuilding as a franchise and would further that goal better by eating as much of Verlander’s future salary as necessary in order to collect the best prospect haul possible. Trading away one of the best pitchers in the history of the franchise would be hard to stomach if it was done for salary reasons rather than team-building reasons.