Tigers' Justin Verlander to retire after 2026 season - ESPN

Justin Verlander, who has amassed three Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships and an MVP award in what undoubtedly is a Hall of Fame career, announced on Wednesday that he'll retire at the end of the 2026 season.

The 43-year-old Verlander, who will make his 10th All-Star Game appearance next week after being named a Legend Pick by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday, has 266 regular-season wins and 3,554 strikeouts in his 21 MLB seasons.

«I never wanted to retire because of a milestone, a number, or a date on the calendar. I wanted the game to tell me when it was time,» Verlander said in a lengthy statement posted to his social media accounts. «Over the last several months, I've realized that time has come.

»While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last. It's fitting that I get to finish where it all started — with the Detroit Tigers, the organization that drafted me and gave me my first opportunity."

Verlander, the oldest player in Major League Baseball, made just one start this season before landing on the IL in April with left hip inflammation. He was slated to return on June 21 but was pushed back after suffering a hamstring strain in a bullpen session leading up to it.

«This season has challenged me in ways I haven't experienced before, both physically and mentally,» Verlander said in his statement. «I've always believed that as long as I could compete at the level I expect of myself, I'd keep playing.»

The No. 2 pick out of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2004, Verlander won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in his age-23 season in 2006 and followed that with eight consecutive years of at least