Justin Verlander loves the way Mets Owner Steve Cohen approached him to get him to Flushing By Rich Coutinho/The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com
The Mets began laying the groundwork for Justin Verlander to be in a Met uniform back in early November. “I remember the call”, said Verlander yesterday at his CitiField press conference, ” and it was not really a baseball call. It was just let me get to know you a little bit..’ As time progressed, the talks became more about a contract but it was clear an early connection had been made.
In Justin Verlander the Mets are getting a Hall of Fame caliber pitcher but also are getting a class act who knows the protocol of this sport. He waited to wait until the deGrom situation was finalized and made that crystal clear yesterday. “He’s iconic in this stadium and for this organization and I did not think it was fair to him or to me to make any decision before he made his decision”, said Verlader.
So once deGrom signed with Texas Verlander quickly agreed to a 2 year contract paying him $43 Million + a season with a 3rd year player option of $35 million for 2025. And since that moment the Mets have continued to floor the gas pedal signing Jose Quintana, Brandon Nimmo, Kodai Senga, David Robertsen and yesterday signed Adam Ottavino to a 2 year deal. And Verlander knows this all fits in with the Met vision of bringing home a championship.
“Billy Eppler (The Mets GM) has a vision, knows the team intimately and what puzzle pieces best fit to make the complete puzzle. Obviously, some of those pieces aren’t cheap”, said Verlander. And the Mets owner is well aware of that as he has committed over $476 million to 7 free agents in the past few weeks.
When you think about the construction of this roster, you realize that both Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler had one thing in mind–make this a championship level roster and they have done that. The rotation is the best in the sport coupled with the best closer in Edwin Diaz. They have the league batting champion in Jeff McNeil, the NL RBI leader in Pete Alonso and the best all around shortstop in the sport in Francisco Lindor. They won 101 games last year but know that is not enough–they want a World Series trophy and that drives them every step of the way. That is why adding a future Hall of Famer made so much sense.
Verlander also chatted on this day on how much living and playing in New York enticed him to sign this deal knowing this roster is loaded with star players. “I love the vibe, I love the city, I love people”, said Verlander who lived in the city a few winters ago with his wife, Kate Upton. I think Verlander will find that a long October journey in Flushing will make him iconic in a New Yok minute.
