Before the Toronto Blue Jays signed a whopping five-year, $110-million deal for Kevin Gausman, the club was eyeing several free agents to bolster its rotation after Robbie Ray and Steven Matz's departures — one of which was Justin Verlander.
Turns out, the interest was mutual.
The two-time AL Cy Young winner and former MVP ultimately re-upped with the Houston Astros, but singled out the Blue Jays as a team he considered joining in an exclusive interview with ESPN's Jeff Passan.
"Houston was at the top of the list," Verlander said. "As negotiations started going, they kind of fell off. Some other teams really started to show a lot of interest. I would say that the leader was probably Toronto. They were great. And I talked to George (Springer) a bunch. They were very proactive to the point that when I signed with Houston, I made sure to let them know that I appreciated it all. Ultimately, when it came down to it, Houston had the same offer. It was all kind of ballpark between them and Toronto, and New York (Yankees) was kind of always just a step behind."
Verlander, 39, did not pitch in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September of 2020, but despite having the surgery at his age, has returned to Cy Young form with an 8-2 record, a 1.95 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP in 12 starts with the Astros this season.
