Scherzer Shares Honest Opinion on Houston Astros Blockbuster Verlander Trade

The Houston Astros acquired pitcher Justin Verlander on Tuesday in the final hours of the trade deadline, and there was one person that wasn’t surprised that Verlander was dealt — his former Mets teammate, Max Scherzer.

“Uh, no,” Scherzer said in his introductory press conference with the Texas Rangers. “That was a specific player that we talked about that was under contract for 2024 that could potentially be moved. And obviously, Ver got moved. So that was no surprise to me.”

The Astros paid a price in prospects to reunite with Verlander, who pitched on their two World Series champions — No. 1 prospect Drew Gilbert, an outfielder, and a Top 5 prospect in outfielder Ryan Clifford. The Mets are also going to help the Astros out with the cost of the remainder of Verlander’s deal.

Scherzer was traded from the Mets to the Rangers on Saturday, with the Mets getting one of the Rangers’ top prospects in infielder Luisangel Acuña. The Rangers also got financial help with Scherzer’s deal and got Scherzer to exercise his 2024 option to ensure he stays with the Rangers.

Their paths have crossed a couple of times. They were teammates in Detroit from 2010-14 and rivals in between as the pair pitched in the 2019 World Series for different teams.

Reunited in New York this season, the thought was the Cy Young-winning pair would lift the Mets to new heights. But the Mets ended up resetting for 2024, trading of not only Scherzer and Verlander but several other players as well.

Scherzer said he wasn’t looking to move, but the mindset of the Mets changed. He and Verlander talked about that earlier this month, knowing there was a chance both could be dealt.

“We did get to talk right there at the end, just understanding that there's been a vision change in the Mets and that kind of happened (quickly),” Scherzer said. “No one in the organization was thinking that way — at least from the player's side — nobody in the clubhouse thought we were going to completely tear down for 2024. And here we are.”

Scherzer even went so far to say that Verlander made his last start with the Mets — against Washington on Saturday — knowing he was to be traded, even though it took a few more days for a deal to get done.

Scherzer said he knows the feeling.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I had that happen in 2021 against the Phillies, where I was making a start, basically knowing I'm getting traded (to the Dodgers)’,” he said. “It's a weird, very weird start. So we were kind of reliving that.”

Now, there’s a chance the pair could square off against each other when the Rangers and the Astros meet for the final series this season — Sept. 4-6 in Arlington.

There’s no guarantee the pair will pitch in the same game, but Scherzer enjoyed being Verlander’s teammate again for a brief time.

“It was great to pitch with him again, (to) see where he's developed, where he really has excelled, where he really sees the game, how he sees his pitches and what makes him tick, where he sees success,” Scherzer said. “It was a good chance to catch back up with him and see where his game that.”