Report: Yankees, Blue Jays among teams interested in Verlander

Justin Verlander could be coming to an AL East powerhouse.

The two-time Cy Young winner, who has until 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday to decide on the Houston Astros' one-year, $18.4-million qualifying offer, is drawing interest from the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Additionally, Rosenthal notes that the Boston Red Sox might also be interested.

Rosenthal imagines that the Astros, with whom Verlander's played the last three-and-a-half seasons, are involved as well, but he downplayed the potential of the hurler returning to the Detroit Tigers.

Despite missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery, the 38-year-old enjoyed a late-career resurgence with the Astros. Over four years after being traded midseason by the Tigers, the right-hander posted a 2.45 ERA and 3.04 FIP across 74 starts.

The eight-time All-Star spent the first 13 years of his career in Detroit, winning the Triple Crown and MVP in 2011.

The Blue Jays could potentially lose Robbie Ray and Steven Matz to free agency this winter. The Yankees had a notable need in their rotation all season, exacerbated by Luis Severino's delayed recovery from Tommy John. And the Red Sox have already lost Eduardo Rodriguez to the Tigers.

Entering his age-39 season, Verlander hasn't pitched since July 24, 2020, which was his only start during the pandemic-shortened campaign.