Mets trade 3-time Cy Young Award winner Verlander back to Astros

The Houston Astros are bringing back Justin Verlander, acquiring the three-time Cy Young Award winner from the New York Mets in a trade deadline blockbuster Tuesday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn't announced the agreement. Multiple reports said the Astros were sending top outfield prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford to New York.

The underperforming Mets are dismantling the most expensive roster in major league history. They dealt ace Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers on Sunday and followed up Tuesday by shedding Verlander, who they signed to an $86.7 US million, two-year contract in December.

The 40-year-old Verlander earned his 250th career victory on Sunday, and 61 of those came with Houston. He was first acquired from the Detroit Tigers during the 2017 season, when he helped pitch the Astros to a World Series title.

The Astros have won the AL West in five of the past six seasons but currently trail the Texas Rangers by half a game.

New York at one point had a projected payroll of $365 million bolstered by billionaire owner Steve Cohen, but the club entered Tuesday 50-55 and six games out of the final NL wild-card spot. Cohen paid off around $35 million remaining on Scherzer's contract to facilitate that deal with the Rangers, which returned top prospect Luisangel Acuna, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. It was unclear if New York was paying down any of Verlander's salary.

Gilbert, 22, was a first-round pick by Houston in 2022 who ranks 68th on MLB.com's Top 100 prospect list. He's a potential five-tool player who dominated at Class A early this season — hitting .360