San Francisco Giants Legend Could Add One More Honor to Hall of Fame Career

The San Francisco Giants added future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander this offseason for a number of reasons.

The first is to solidify their rotation with the most storied starting pitcher that's still active in the league. Verlander just turned 42 years old, so that move comes with obvious availability-related downsides. The early signs this spring have been positive, as the veteran's velocity has, remarkably, not dipped.

The second is there are few veteran pitchers left that can even sniff Verlander's accomplishments.

He's a three-time Cy Young winner heading towards his 20th Big League season. He's one of six pitchers in the history of the game to throw three no-hitters. He's a two-time World Series champion with 3,416 career strikeouts. He'll enter this season with 262 career wins, positioning him as the latest pitcher to cross the 250-win threshold.

Players like that do not grow on trees, and they can walk right in and change a team's culture. Every pitcher on the Giants' roster can learn from Verlander by just being around him. In a sense, he's like having an extra coach on the team, one that can elevate and refine those around him.

San Francisco is in a tough spot in the loaded National League West. They have a good enough roster to contend in the NL Central or AL Central, but their path to the playoffs is through the Wild Card in the NL West. The Los Angeles Dodgers would need to have an unexpected down year for anyone else to win the division.

Even if the Dodgers disappoint, the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres are both quality teams. Throw in the loaded NL East with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets and the NL Wild Card race is very crowded. A playoff berth is far from a certainty for the Giants.

One of the ways the team can improve from last year, is if their Hall of Fame-bound free agent pitcher returns to form, which he's done before.

Verlander won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2022, and he's in position to contend for it again in 2025. The Braves' Ronald Acuna represents very difficult competition in that race, but a big year from Verlander would be hard for voters to ignore.

The only other pitcher he can be compared to is the great Nolan Ryan, who saw plenty of success after the age of 40. If anyone can duplicate the level of performance Ryan enjoyed post-40, it's Verlander.

The future Hall of Famer enters this season in very rare waters, given that he's still throwing in the mid 90's. Even if he has a few rough outings through the rest of this spring, that's not cause for concern. As long as the veteran can maintain his velocity and control, he has a shot to add another Comeback Player of the Year award to his already impressive mantle.

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