MLB Rumors: Verlander “Amenable” To Trade To Old Team

The Houston Astros are trying to scratch and claw their way back into contention this season, winners of seven of their last 10 games. But they still sit at 19-25, and this just might not be their year. 

If they turn out to be sellers as we get closer to the MLB trade deadline, one of their top trade pieces will be 3-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. 

And according to MLB Insider Jon Heyman, the team with which he spent the first 12 1/2 years of his career might be the one to come calling:

Detroit might make an interesting landing spot for the legendary ex-Tiger. Confidants suggest Verlander might be amenable to Detroit.

The now 41-year-old Verlander was the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the Tigers and won Rookie of the Year, an MVP, and his first Cy Young Award while in the Motor City. He also picked up six of his nine All-Star appearances with Detroit. 

He won two more Cy Youngs and a pair of World Series rings in his second life with the Houston Astros. Now, it sounds like a chance to head back to where it all began could be enticing to the future Hall of Famer.

After being traded back to Houston from the New York Mets last season, Verlander is sitting with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP after tossing seven shutout innings in his last start for the Astros. The Tigers are 21-22, five games out of first place in the weak AL Central, and four games back of a Wild Card spot.

Other prime suitors, with whom he'd have a better chance of appearing in another World Series, are said to be the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.