Houston Astros acquire Justin Verlander from New York Mets - ESPN

The Houston Astros and Justin Verlander are reuniting in hopes of securing a third championship together.

The Astros reached agreement with the New York Mets on Tuesday to reacquire Verlander, bringing the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner back to Houston, the team announced Tuesday. Outfielder Drew Gilbert, rated as the Astros' best prospect by MLB.com, is heading to New York in the deal, as is minor league outfielder Ryan Clifford.

Clifford, an 11th-round draft pick last year, is ranked fourth in Houston's system after an impressive stint in High-A.

Verlander, 40, returned from Tommy John surgery to capture his third Cy Young in Houston in 2022, then helped lead the team to its second World Series title in six years. The Astros chose not to aggressively pursue a reunion with Verlander over the offseason, instead putting their faith in what looked like a young and deep rotation, while Verlander signed a two-year, $86.7 million deal with the free-spending Mets.

His contract also included a $35 million option for 2025 that vests if he accumulates at least 140 innings in 2024, a circumstance that scared teams away. The Mets will pay $35 million out of the $58 million remaining on Verlander's deal in 2023 and 2024 and $17.5 million of his 2025 option if it vests, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"[General manager Dana Brown] and his team worked on it hard," Astros owner Jim Crane told The Associated Press on Tuesday. «After we looked at the numbers — it's always tough to give up prospects, but I think they determined that it was the right move. We needed starting pitching. He's been throwing well. And I think the other factor is they ate a lot of the contract. So it wasn't a really hard decision. It was just