San Francisco Giants Veteran Free Agent Named As Serious Bounce Back Candidate

The San Francisco Giants missed out on the top names in the free agent pitching market despite being linked to virtually every one of them.

Instead of landing someone like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried, the big splash the Giants made in a thin rotation desperate for another ace was signing 42-year-old Justin Verlander to a one-year deal worth $15 million.

While the right-hander is one of the best pitchers of his generation and a virtual lock to be in the Hall of Fame one day, age and injuries caught up with him in 2024 for what was one of the worst seasons of his 19-year career.

Now entering year 20 with the Giants, Verlander appears determined to prove his struggles with the Houston Astros last season were more so due to bad injury luck than the fact that he can't pitch at a high level anymore at this late stage of his career.

In an article analyzing which players who were disappointing in 2024 are due for a major bounce back in 2025, Brian Murphy of MLB.com pointed out some advanced stats which could work to the favor of the veteran.

"Verlander is feeling fit and motivated as he enters season No. 20, his first with the Giants," Murphy wrote. "He is only one year removed from registering a 3.22 ERA over 162 1/3 innings between the Mets and Astros and ranking as a top 20 pitcher by run value. Expecting a pitcher of Verlander’s age to remain healthy over a full season is a risky proposition, but if his body does hold up, Verlander will probably contribute an ERA+ of 120 or better -- something he did every year from 2016-23"

Verlander was able to make just 17 starts in 2024 for the Astros due to the various injury problems and was not good when he was able to stay on the mound. With his first losing record in nearly a decade, the legend posted a pedestrian at best 5.48 ERA with just 74 strikeouts in 90.1.

He was not the perennial All-Star version of himself the season before both with Houston and the New York Mets, but the 3.22 ERA and more importantly 27 starts are more than enough to at the very least help San Francisco's rotation if he can be that version of himself.

Verlander is just two years removed from arguably the best season of his storied career, winning his third Cy Young award in 2022 with a blazing career-best 1.75 ERA and 0.829 WHIP over 28 starts with a record of 18-4.

The Giants don't need Verlander to be a Cy Young candidate - though it would be nice. They simply need him to be the realistic best possible version of himself that he can be.

Regardless of the result, San Francisco is going to get everything Verlander has left. And there's a solid chance everything he has is enough to be an important part of the starting rotation and the clubhouse.

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