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Once considered contenders for the NL West crown, the San Francisco Giants have dropped in the standings over the last month. The Giants have lost five straight games and 11 of their last 13. Mired in an ugly slump, San Francisco signaled that it's ready to become a seller at the trade deadline by shipping talented reliever Tyler Rogers to the New York Mets on Wednesday. Now veteran starter Justin Verlander could be the next big name the team moves ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
With the former MVP on an expiring contract, the Giants are making Verlander available, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.“Out of respect to the future Hall of Famer, the Giants are open to working out a deal if it makes sense” for the team and the player, Morosi added.
Giants put Justin Verlander on trade block after falling out of division race
While the 20th-year veteran has struggled this season, he has strung together back-to-back solid starts. Verlander finally picked up his first win of 2025 in his 17th outing of the year. On the season he’s now 1-8 with a 4.53 ERA, 1.489 WHIP, 85 ERA+ and 77 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings. However, he’s allowed just one run on seven hits and collected 10 strikeouts in his last 10 innings.
Verlander signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Giants over the offseason. He was hoping to bounce back from his brutal 2024 campaign with the Houston Astros. And the Giants were banking on Verlander still having something left in the tank.
It’s possible the 42-year-old starter draws some interest ahead of the deadline on his name alone. The three-time Cy Young winner has two World Series rings and a proven track record of postseason success.
Just last month the Giants appeared poised for a second-half divisional battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco moved into a tie with LA for the NL West lead on June 13. After trading for Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers, the team appeared all in.
But Devers has struggled since switching teams and the Giants’ offense hit a historic low while getting swept by the Mets. San Francisco has fallen nine games back in the division and the team appears ready to recoup whatever value it can from Verlander as the trade deadline nears.
