Verlander recalls ‘refreshing’ experience being recruited by Posey originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey and Justin Verlander one day will be together in Cooperstown, but because Posey spent his whole career with the Giants and Verlander has spent just about his entire career in the American League, the two haven’t had many battles on the field. They faced off just three times in the regular season during Posey’s career, plus two matchups in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series.
The two occasionally were MLB All-Stars at the same time, but until Posey called Verlander a few weeks ago, there wasn’t a lot of familiarity. Verlander quickly found, though, that he was very intrigued by the possibility of pitching for a team that Posey now runs.
“Honestly it is a little weird, but at the same time I’m at that point of my career where I’m starting to deal with a lot of people that I’ve played against or are younger than me, so I’m getting pretty used to it,” Verlander said on a Zoom call Monday morning. “I don’t know if I ever will be completely used to it, but honestly talking to someone like Buster with his experience was pretty refreshing in a game that is so full of a lot of analysts now. I think that was really something for me that was a nice draw just to talk with somebody who has been on the field and competed and understands, but also understands the analytics, right?
“It was very clear that he gets both sides of it. In having those conversations, it made it very comfortable for me speaking with him, and hopefully vice versa. It wasn’t awkward. There were a lot of thoughts running through my mind which I haven’t brought up to him yet about some experiences I’ve had in my career that weren’t so happy for me, but it obviously didn’t get in the way.”
Verlander passed his physical over the weekend and officially signed a one-year, $15 million contract that will put him in San Francisco for his 20th MLB season. He already was in his third full season when the Giants drafted Posey in 2008, and Posey made sure Monday to make note of the fact that Verlander is four years older than him.
As accomplished as Posey was, he just signed someone who has an even larger trophy case. Verlander is a three-time Cy Young Award winner who was so dominant at his peak that he also won an MVP award. He won a pair of World Series rings in Houston, and in San Francisco he will attempt to get closer to becoming the 25th player to join the 300-win club. Verlander, the active wins leader, is 38 away as he comes up on his 42nd birthday.
On Monday, Posey referenced that track record and made it clear he’s counting on Verlander to have a big 2025 season. The president of baseball operations said he has seen stories about how Verlander can help the Giants’ young starters, and he believes he will, but that’s not why he’s here.
“First and foremost, we all see this guy pitching at the top of the rotation and being very, very good, and he made that clear as well,” Posey said. “That’s our hope. I know that’s his hope and expectation, as well.”
The Giants are betting big on Verlander, who likely will be their only notable addition to the rotation after flirtations with Corbin Burnes, Roki Sasaki and other younger options. Verlander is betting big on the Giants, too. Nobody wants to battle for fourth place 20 years into their career, and if Verlander is to make a run at 300 wins in the next few years — an accomplishment he subtly referenced on his Zoom call — he’ll benefit greatly from the Giants being more competitive in 2025 than they have been the last couple of seasons.
All of this might ultimately come down to health, and Verlander said that all is currently positive in that department. He made just 17 starts last season for the Houston Astros because of shoulder and neck issues, but said he learned from both and already has made the necessary adjustments. Verlander never threw in the offseason until this year, the result of last spring’s shoulder capsule discomfort. He said he feels great physically and already is up to about 92 mph in bullpen sessions.
This again is where perhaps Posey can lean on his own playing experience. He dealt with injuries later in his playing days but bounced back in 2021 to have one of the best offensive seasons of his career. At the end of that season, at the age of 34, Posey retired. That might be why one of his first questions to Verlander was about whether he still has the passion to do this at a high level.
“I think I gave him a really long answer, longer than he intended,” Verlander said. “The fire is still burning.”
That call itself caught Verlander by surprise, and he admitted Monday that he wasn’t really thinking about the Giants when MLB free agency started. Posey changed that by expressing interest, and ultimately the sides found they had common goals. On Monday, Verlander said he wouldn’t still be pitching if he “didn’t think I could be great.” Posey believes there’s a lot left in the tank.
“When we started having the conversation a couple of weeks ago, it was very evident just how motivated he is,” Posey said. “You don’t get to the level of greatness that he has accomplished in his career without having just the utmost fortitude and desire to be the best. When I think about pitchers of this generation, to me, Justin is at the top. For him to come to San Francisco and continue his career and build on [what is] already his Hall of Fame resume, it’s very exciting for us.”
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