Verlander: Astros said they weren't 'in a place' to make offer despite interest

Even after a difficult ending to his final season in Houston, Justin Verlander and the Astros wanted to keep their union going in 2025.

However, the future Hall of Fame pitcher - who signed a one-year, $15-million deal with the San Francisco Giants in January - said this week that owner Jim Crane quashed any chance of his staying in Houston.

"Jim is like, 'We're not even in a place to make an offer right now,'" Verlander told Chandler Rome of The Athletic, adding that he was in touch with Crane "a lot" during the winter. "I appreciated the candidness. That was kind of that for me."

The 42-year-old put up a career-worst 5.48 ERA over just 17 starts due to injuries in his final season with the Astros. He was eventually left off the playoff roster for the team's wild-card series against Detroit. Still, the 2017 ALCS MVP told Rome he wasn't ready to leave the Astros again, and there was "mutual interest" in getting a deal done.

But when the time came, the Astros were apparently unwilling to stretch their payroll to make it work. Houston's 2025 payroll of approximately $239 million is just below the first luxury tax threshold of $241 million, according to Spotrac, and it would have soared above that mark by re-signing Verlander. Throughout the offseason, the Astros operated as though they was unable to cross the threshold, sources told Rome.

"We don't really stay focused on that," Crane said when asked if he gave the front office a mandate to stay below the tax line, per Rome. "We really stay focused on winning and putting the best combination of players we can put on the field."

Houston did shed some payroll during the offseason by trading star outfielder Kyle Tucker and relief ace Ryan Pressly to the Cubs, and allowing longtime third baseman Alex Bregman to leave in free agency. Additionally, Left-hander Framber Valdez, a pending free agent, recently revealed he hasn't received any extension offers from the team.

However, the Astros also made at least one win-now move by signing veteran first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60-million deal.

Over his seven-plus seasons with the Astros (interrupted by a brief detour to the Mets in 2023), Verlander won a pair of Cy Young awards and the 2017 ALCS MVP while pitching the club to three AL pennants and two World Series titles. He owns the lowest WHIP (0.92) and fifth-lowest ERA (2.71) in Astros history.