'Growing Industry Belief' Justin Verlander Doesn't Get Traded

Is he staying or is he going?

New York Mets ace Justin Verlander picked up the 250th win of his career on Sunday, which could have possibly been his final start in Queens.

On Saturday, the Mets traded co-ace Max Scherzer and $35 million to the Texas Rangers for top prospect Luisangel Acuna, superstar Ronald Acuna's younger brother, signaling they're open for business.

However, SNY's Andy Martino is reporting that there is growing industry belief that Verlander stays put.

According to Martino, the Mets are listening to calls on Verlander but are putting an extremely high value on him. Teams wanting salary relief like the Mets provided in the Scherzer deal are finding the prospect ask to be much higher by New York.

If the Mets want to compete next year they're likely better off hanging onto Verlander. The future Hall of Famer would also have to waive his no-trade clause, which sounded like something he'd be open to doing after the Scherzer trade.

"I think it largely depends on how the organization views next year. I mean, I think Max is a tough sign for trying to go back at it like happened this year. I'm committed to trying to win a championship here. But if the organization decides that that's not exactly the direction that they think is best fit to go for next year and go for it again, then, yeah, I'd be more open to it."

Martino also reported that the Houston Astros reached out to the Mets about Verlander on Sunday, but the sides were not close. Verlander pitched for Houston from 2017-2022 and helped them win two World Series titles.