Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer Among Top 10 Trade Deadline Moves Of Last 25 Years

What an Amazing trade deadline it was for Justin Verlander in Major League Baseball this week.

As in, thank you New York Mets.

The Mets, 50-58 and 20 games out of first in the National League East as of Friday, may have won the World Series - for either the Houston Astros or the Texas Rangers. And Verlander is on a contender again.

The Mets dealt away six Cy Young awards as they traded pitcher Justin Verlander (Cy winner in 2011, '19 and '22) to the Astros on Tuesday and pitcher Max Scherzer (Cy man in 2013, '16 and '17) to the Rangers on Saturday.

Justin Verlander was supposed to bring the New York Mets to the 2023 World Series, but he is back in Houston, where he helped the Astros win the 2022 world title. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images)

Verlander just helped the Astros to their first legitimate World Series crown last season as he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA before signing with the Mets. (The 2017 title that included Verlander remains obviously tainted with the sinister sign stealing controversy.) Justin Verlander is 40 and was only 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA for the Mets this season, but he did post an amazing (sorry) 1.69 ERA in six appearances in July.

"Everything goes into that bucket when you're gathering information - my relationship with my teammates, the coaching staff, familiarity with Houston and then the fan base," Verlander said at a press conference Thursday in New York. "All of it is really what went into my thought process leading up to this. It's exciting seeing these guys again. It's a little weird because it hasn't been that long. So it feels like you don't miss a beat, and you're right back in the locker room. It's a really odd feeling. Hard to explain."

Maybe this will make up for the Astros' heartbreaking NLCS loss to the Mets in 1986 in six games. Former Met Mike Scott (18-10, 2.22 ERA, 306 strikeouts, Cy Young winner) would have pitched for Houston in a game seven. But that never happened.

MLB Trade Deadline Move May Push Astros To Another Title

The Astros already have a strong pitching staff despite losing starters Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia early in the year to season-ending injuries. Framber Valdez just threw the club's 16th all-time no-hitter that leads MLB on Tuesday in a 2-0 win over Cleveland. He is seventh in ERA at 3.07 and is 9-7 on the season. J.P. France is 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA. And Cristian Javier is 7-2 with a 4.39 ERA after a no-decision in a 4-3 loss to the Yankees in New York Thursday night.

Plus the Mets will graciously still pay Justin Verlander $35 million of his contract for 2023-24 and could end up paying him $52.5 million. The Astros are expected to pay a $29 million portion. Thanks again. But Houston did have to give up two top outfield prospects - outfielder Drew Gilbert, who was its first round pick in 2022, and Ryan Clifford, an 11th round pick in 2022.

For those Mets fans upset about losing a pitcher just signed for two years at $86.6 million expected to get them to their first World Series since 2015, they can just hop in the subway. Verlander is scheduled to start Saturday at Yankee Stadium (1:05 p.m., MLB.tv, YES) against Nester Cortes Jr. (5-2). Verlander is 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA all-time vs. the Yankees in the playoffs and had a .075 ERA this season through two starts.

Yankees fans and general manager Brian Cashman, meanwhile, can at least watch a dominant team this weekend with Houston in the other dugout. Cashman did nothing at the trade deadline as his team remains in last in the AL East - 10 games behind Baltimore.

Justin Verlander Takes Heat Off Houston Pitchers

"This is a potential big piece if he is the JV that we know," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "I think that takes some pressure off some of the other guys that have been thrust into being number ones."

And the Astros (62-47) had to keep up with the Rangers in the American League West as they trailed by a half game through Wednesday. The Mets potentially pushed Texas into the World Series by dealing it Max Scherzer (9-4, 4.01 ERA). Scherzer, 39, was 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA in 2022 for the Mets, who signed him to a three-year, $130 million deal before the that season.

The Mets will pay most of Scherzer's remaining salary as he pitches for the Rangers. The Mets received shortstop prospect Luisangel Acuna in the deal. Scherzer is already paying dividends. He beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 on Thursday in Arlington, Texas. Scherzer struck out nine with two walks and three runs allowed in six innings.

Houston plays at Texas Sept. 4-6 as Verlander and Scherzer, who pitched for Detroit together from 2010-14 - could meet in the heat of the pennant race.

Each are twice part of the the top 10 trade deadline moves over the past 25 years:

10. TORONTO OF STEVE PEARCE TO BOSTON, 2018: The Red Sox were tied for first in the AL East when they traded second baseman prospect Santiago Espinal for Pearce. Boston won the East by eight games over the Yankees and beat the Dodgers in the World Series. Pearce hit .333 and hit three home runs in the World Series.

Max Scherzer was 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA with the Mets in the 2023 season before being traded to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

9. NEW YORK METS P MAX SCHERZER TO TEXAS, 2023: The first of two appearances here by Max Scherzer. The Rangers have not been to the postseason since 2016 and feel Scherzer can get them there. He comes to an injury-riddled pitching staff needing a stud, and the eight-time All-Star is that. Scherzer also reunites with his former Washington pitching coach, Mike Maddux, who was there when Scherzer won his two Cy Youngs with the Nationals.

8. WASHINGTON P MAX SCHERZER TO LOS ANGELES DODGERS, 2021: After going 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA for the Nationals, Scherzer became a Dodger just at the trade deadline. A three-time Cy Young winner and World Series champion for the Nats in 2019, Scherzer propelled a pitching-depleted team to the playoffs. He went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA. The Dodgers reached the NL Championship Series before losing to Atlanta. And Scherzer was off to the Mets.

Mr. Cy Young Returns To Astros

7. NEW YORK METS P JUSTIN VERLANDER TO HOUSTON, 2023: The Astros pitching staff needs a hand and star power. Verlander should be that and then some, even at 40, as Houston and Verlander try to repeat as World Series champions. It's almost like Verlander is an August call-up from the minors - in this case the Mets.

"I was watching his game very closely that last start," Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Verlander's 5-2 win over Washington on Sunday. He allowed five hits and one run with five strikeouts and a walk in five and a third innings through 103 pitches. "That was the JV that I knew."

6. BOSTON OF MANNY RAMIREZ TO LOS ANGELES DODGERS, 2008: The Dodgers trailed Arizona by two games in the NL West when Ramirez left a stormy but successful relationship with the Red Sox. He proved he still had some good years left and got the Dodgers into the playoffs as the NL West champions before losing to Philadelphia in the NL title series. Ramirez hit .396 for the Dodgers after leaving Boston at .299. He hit 17 homers with 53 RBIs for LA and kept being Manny in the playoffs with a .667 on-base percentage and another four homers as pitchers usually avoided him.

5. CLEVELAND P CC SABATHIA TO MILWAUKEE, 2008: Milwaukee sat in third place and trailed the Chicago Cubs by four games in the NL Central when it sent Matt LaPorta, Zack Jackson, Rob Bryson and Michael Brantley to Cleveland for Sabathia. The left-hander was 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA at the time, but he roared to an 11-2 and 1.65 second half with the Brewers. And Milwaukee reached the postseason for the first time in 26 years as the NL wild card winner. The Brewers lost the division series to Philadelphia, but Sabathia finished in the top six for the NL Cy Young and MVP despite just 17 appearances as a Brewer. It was too good to be true, though. He became a Yankee the next year and stayed there through 2019, winning 14 or more games six times.

4. DETROIT P JUSTIN VERLANDER TO HOUSTON, 2017: Seconds before the trade deadline on Aug. 31, 2017, the Astros sent pitcher Franklin Perez, outfielder Daz Cameron and catcher Jake Rogers to Detroit for Verlander. At the time, he was losing his fastball and was 10-8 on the season with a 3.82 ERA. But the magic happened in Houston as he went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA to end the regular season with his fastball getting back to 95 mph. He struck out 43 in 34 innings. Verlander kept trending in the postseason with a 4-1 record and 2.21 ERA as Houston won its first World Series. He allowed a .177 batting average and struck out 38 in 36 and two-thirds innings. He won the ALCS MVP with a 2-0 mark and 0.56 ERA against the Yankees with 21 strikeouts in 16 innings.

3. SEATTLE P RANDY JOHNSON TO HOUSTON, 1998: After a 20-4 season with a 2.28 ERA in 1997, the 1995 Cy Young-winning Johnson gave the Astros just what they needed minutes before the trade deadline on July 31, 1998. Houston led the NL Central by 3.5 games before the trade. They won the division by 12.5 games mainly because of Johnson. He came in at 9-10 with a 4.33 ERA with the Mariners, but found the Astrodome to his liking as so many pitchers did. He launched and kept going to a 10-1 regular season in 11 starts and a 1.28 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 84 and a third innings.

"We didn't hit the Powerball, but we still won a lottery," Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell said at the time.

And not a bad tradeoff for minor leaguers Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama. Johnson compiled a 1.93 ERA in two NL Division series starts versus San Diego, but lost 2-1 to Kevin Brown and 6-1 to Sterling Hitchcock. And like a comet, he was gone ... to Arizona for the next six seasons. He won four more Cy Youngs and the 2001 World Series with the Diamondbacks. Young pitched through 2009 with the Yankees, Arizona again and San Francisco before retiring at age 46.

2. KANSAS CITY OF CARLOS BELTRAN TO HOUSTON, 2004: This one could easily be No. 1, but the Astros did not reach the World Series in 2004. Before Beltran, Houston was in fifth place in the NL Central and seven games behind St. Louis. With Beltran, the Astros won the wild card and beat the Braves in the NL Division series for their first postseason series victory before losing to St. Louis in the NLCS. In 12 playoff games, Beltran hit .435 with eight home runs, 14 RBIs, six stolen bases, 21 runs scored and a .536 on base average. The eight homers tied Barry Bonds postseason record.

Beltran also hit at least one home run in a record five straight postseason games - a mark that stood until the Mets' Daniel Murphy hit at least one in six straight playoff games in 2015. But alas, Beltran left for the Mets for 2005-11. He played for four more teams over the next six years before returning to Houston to win his only World Series in 2017 and called it a career.

1. CLEVELAND OF DAVID JUSTICE TO NEW YORK YANKEES, 2000: The Yankees trailed Toronto by three games in the AL East before getting an apparently descending former Braves' star in Justice. He arrived hitting .265 at Cleveland. Inserted at No. 3 in the order, he hit .305 as a Yankee with 20 homers and 60 RBIs with an impressive .585 slugging percentage in 78 games. The Yankees won the East by 2.5 games. Justice took ALCS MVP honors as he hit two home runs with eight RBIs in the victory over Seattle in six games. And the Yankees went on to win the World Series.

But the Yankees have won only one World Series since in 2009. And it is long past deadline.