New San Francisco Giants Star Eager to Play Role of Mentor to Young Staff

A future Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander is prepared to play the veteran role and share his knowledge in San Francisco.

Feb 13, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches players work out in the bullpen during spring training camp. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants pounced on Justin Verlander on a cheap deal to bring in the veteran this offseason.

At 42 years old, Verlander is likely past his prime on the mound, but he still provides a lot of value to a team that projects to have a lot of young arms help out this year. Coming off of a year in which the right hander had a 5.48 ERA in 90.1 innings, there is hope that he can bounce back and be a good option behind Logan Webb. However, he's already thriving in his new role.

With spring training underway, a lot of the buzz coming from Giants camp has been from the young arms, such as Hayden Birdsong. The staff seems to be taking everything Verlander says to heart. Birdsong, going into his second season, is fighting for a rotation spot.

Although he showed flashes in 2024, his final ERA was 4.75 in 16 starts, but did show some good stuff as he struck out 88 in 72 innings pitched, including an 11 strikeout start to end the season. Now, fighting for a spot, he's taking the advice of the three-time Cy Young award winner.

"He asked me before I went out if I was going to throw from the third base side. It helped a lot," the second year pitcher said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.

An easy mechanical change such as starting differently is something that can be huge, and a veteran of Verlander's stature can bring that knowledge easily.

Verlander didn't always want to play the mentor role, though. On the NBC Sports Bay Area's podcast, "Giants Talk," he explained how he had to come around to it, saying that a lot in his life changed during his Houston Astros stint and that he came in 'hot and heavy' with the New York Mets.

Now, though, he is ready to pass on his Hall of Fame knowledge.

"...When you come into this league it's so competitive and I was always really focused on what I needed to do to be successful... it really change my mindset on a lot of things," he said.

Now that Verlander is entering his twilight years, he has become more willing, and more eager, to be the veteran mentor. The Giants have a lot of young pitching waiting to make an impact, whether it's Birdsong or Kyle Harrison who have already played at the Major League level, or prospect Carson Whisenhunt.

"I've worked hard on my communication skills and it's something that I now want to bring to the table... time to take the blinders off and see what else is going on and help these guys in any way I can," the right hander said.

After declining in the last two seasons following his Cy Young, Verlander is looking to get back to form in what will likely be one of his final seasons. If he can do that while providing off the field value, it will be a flyer worth taking for San Francisco.