Justin Verlander RUMORS & NEWS

CBSSports.com "For a good two years now, Justin Verlander has been the best pitcher in the world. He won both the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 2011, becoming the first pitch to do so since Roger Clemens in 1986. The FanGraphs version of WAR says he was even better in 2012 (7.0) than 2011 (6.8) despite the lack..." June 19

Michigan Live "It's commonly referred to as the "Handshake of Doom" by members of the media. Tigers ace Justin Verlander tried to avoid it Friday night. Tigers manager Jim Leyland wouldn't let him. First, a bit of background: Leyland will typically greet his starting pitchers at the steps of the dugout..." June 08

Detroit News "Alex Avila walked away shaking his head. Smiling, but shaking his head. Justin Verlander's batting-practice power was not a subject he wanted anything to do with. "Some guys get upset because I have more pop than they do," countered a kidding Verlander. Manager Jim Leyland wasn't even..." June 01

Detroit Free Press "Not too bad this time, Justin Verlander. The Detroit Tigers ace posted his first quality start in his past four outings, giving up just three runs in seven innings while striking out 13, as the Detroit Tigers open their 2-game home series vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 6-5 win on Memorial..." May 28

Fox Sports Detroit "Justin Verlander knows what’s wrong with Justin Verlander. “Tinkering,” he told me, “is what I would call it.” Of course. Tinkering. In his last three starts, Verlander has allowed 16 earned runs over 12-2/3 innings. Fans, scouts and opposing hitters would choose a different participle:..." May 26

Detroit News "When Justin Verlander struggled in unprecedented ways during his last start — namely, that seven-run third inning in Texas — he said he intended to fix the problem by getting back to basics. His first start since then is here — Wednesday night against the Indians at Progressive Field. So,..." May 22

Detroit News "Justin Verlander hasn't been himself in his last two starts. Should you worry? Of course, you should. But choose the right reason to do it. Let's discard this reason first: His health. Verlander is not hurt. His arm isn't sore. He said Thursday night, after his abysmal outing, he's been..." May 18

Detroit News "Day One of the solution was, as you might expect, quiet. In fact, if the stats weren't available to indicate just how much Justin Verlander has struggled in his last two starts, (7.2 innings, 12 hits, 11 earned runs, and seven walks), you might have thought there was nothing from which to..." May 18

Detroit News "For a while, questions will outnumber answers. That's what happens when your ace, your All-Star, your Justin Verlander has one of the worst starts — not to mention, the worst inning — of his career. As he had Thursday night in the Tigers' 10-4 loss to the Texas Rangers. What's wrong? Is..." May 17

Fort Worth Star-Telegram "The ballyhooed Justin Verlander-Yu Darvish matchup Thursday night looked nothing like a duel between two anticipated Cy Young contenders. Instead, the opener of the four-game weekend series between the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers resembled a Willie Blair-Mark Clark from 1999. Except..." May 17

Detroit News "The Tigers four-game weekend series against the Rangers is a matchup of first-place teams. And fittingly, the opener features two of the premier pitchers — Tigers ace Justin Verlander (4-3, 1.93 ERA), who has led the American League in strikeouts three of the past four seasons, against Rangers..." May 16

Michigan Live "Our weekly look at the Detroit Tigers: Who's hot: Jhonny Peralta struggled through a sub-par season in 2012. But with the 2013 season nearing its one-quarter mark, Peralta is hitting .315 and has helped stretch out the lineup for the Tigers. Peralta is hitting .382 (13-for-34) with one home..." May 13

Detroit News "It used to be, when Justin Verlander pitched, nothing else mattered. It was gasp, gasp, gasp, gas, gas, gas. The power display was awe-inspiring, easily the main attraction. Verlander remains fully capable of eliciting awe, don't worry about that. But power is on display just about every night..." May 01

Detroit News "Something's wrong with Justin Verlander? Something knocked him out of the game early? What is it? How much time is he going to miss? Relax. The Tigers weren't even entirely sure what to call it. Maybe a blister. Maybe cracked skin. That's what they eventually went with, "cracked skin on..." April 26

New York Post "Can a game be labeled big without a week of the schedule complete? In the Yankees’ case there was no other way to view yesterday’s 7-0 victory over the Tigers in front of 39,829 at Comerica Park. Sure, they downplayed the significance of a win on April 7 because that’s how managers and..." April 08

Detroit News "On his sixth try, Justin Verlander got his first Opening Day victory for the Tigers in Monday's 4-2 decision over the Twins. But it was a strange one. It was strange because Verlander was out of the game after five innings. Manager Jim Leyland said the pitch count for Verlander would have..." April 02

Detroit News "It was seven springs ago, in 2006, when a new Tigers manager decided to roll with Justin Verlander as part of Detroit's revamped baseball cast. Jim Leyland had it right. His kid right-hander grew into a man now considered the top pitcher in baseball, with a paycheck to match, after Verlander on..." March 30

Detroit Free Press "Justin Verlander signed a contract that should make him a Tiger for life. How he performs over the course of his contract extension will help determine whether he ends up in the Hall of Fame. Verlander, who said he was intrigued about the chance to be the first $200-million pitcher, isn't..." March 30

Detroit Free Press "The Detroit Tigers have agreed to a five-year contract extension with Justin Verlander through 2019, with a vesting option for the 2020 season. ESPN reports that the deal is worth $180 million -- $202 million if the 2020 season is in play. "I love this city & the fans - couldn't be more..." March 29

Michigan Live "Justin Verlander set a deadline. That deadline expired Wednesday. As of now, all signs seem to indicate the Tigers and Verlander haven't reached an agreement on a long-term extension. Now, it appears both sides will just wait. Verlander declined to comment when asked if any progress had been..." March 28

Detroit Free Press "Without a contract extension in the next few hours, Justin Verlander could be looking at his last season in Detroit. If he's true to his word, no deal by today -- when he makes his final spring start -- means no contract discussions until next off-season. If the Tigers are crazy enough to..." March 27

CBSSports.com "If the Detroit Tigers want to sign superstar right-hander Justin Verlander to a multiyear extension, they had better hustle. Verlander said Saturday that if there's no deal in place by his next start, his last spring start, there won't be any more contract talk through the remainder of the..." March 23

Detroit News "Even though he likes to pretend otherwise during in-season batting practice ahead of road interleague games, Justin Verlander is no hitter. He's batted 33 times during the regular season, and still doesn't have a hit. So maybe it's time for some tips from the — gasp — younger brother. Ben..." March 12

Detroit Free Press "Justin Verlander thinks his rough outing Monday against the Mets will serve as a positive in the future. Verlander said he taxed himself in a bullpen session a few days ago and didn't feel right before facing the Mets at Joker Marchant Stadium. Verlander gave up four hits -- including two..." March 12

Detroit Free Press "What happened: Justin Verlander blanked Toronto on one hit over four innings. Catcher Bryan Holaday had a two-run double, and Torii Hunter hit his first Tigers homer. Boesch is back: In his first big-league game of the spring, lefty-swinging Brennan Boesch fanned in his one at-bat, against..." March 07

Detroit News "In an interview with CNN's Carol Costello on Tuesday, Tigers ace Justin Verlander said he would "absolutely" accept an openly gay player on his team. "I wouldn't mind it," Verlander added. There are no openly gay players in any of the "Big Four" American sports leagues: Major League..." March 06

Detroit Free Press "It was a small thing that illustrated a big thing. It happened Friday, with two out in the third inning of the Tigers-Mets game. Justin Verlander was pitching against nonroster outfielder Matt den Dekker. "I don't know if you guys noticed," Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters, "but the..." March 06

Detroit News "On is good. Ahead is even better. Justin Verlander being on schedule in his preparation for the season is always music to the Tigers' ears in spring training. But ahead of schedule? That's a veritable symphony. In Friday's 6-2 loss to the Mets at Tradition Field, Verlander was not the..." March 02

Bless You Boys "$200 million is a lot of money. Especially for a starting pitcher. Those things can be fragile. They fall apart physically. They require surgeries. They lose their velocity. They get old. Like the rest of us. Only the rest of us probably aren't guaranteed $200 million no matter whether we fall..." February 26

Detroit News "Justin Verlander would like to spend his entire career in Detroit, and Tigers fans would love to see that happen. If only it were that simple. Verlander has said he'd like to be paid $200 million — a figure that would make him the highest paid pitcher yet also a possible financial burden on..." February 26

Detroit News "Want to make $200 million? Sure he does. Interested in free agency? Yes to that, too. Justin Verlander answered the questions honestly. When interviewed about his future by Yahoo! Sports last Friday, he said what he felt because he's not one to mince words. After his first outing of the..." February 25

Yahoo! Sports "In the race to become the first $200 million arm, Justin Verlander has made it clear: Much like everything else he does, he wants to win. "Of course," he told Yahoo! Sports on Friday morning. "I don't play this game to make the most money. But I do feel like it would be nice to be compensated..." February 23

Michigan Live "Imagine what the Detroit Tigers of the mid-1960s would have been like with Justin Verlander in the starting rotation? Denny McLain can. And, in his mind, Verlander would have fit right in. “I think he would have done very well with us,” said McLain, who won 31 games for the 1968 World Series..." February 21

Detroit Free Press "Justin Verlander turns 30 today. After all he has done as a pitcher in his 20s, how does he envision his 30s? "I envision them being better," Verlander said Tuesday. "Why not?" He says this based on his health -- he has learned how to take care of himself and pace himself -- and his..." February 20

Detroit News "For your 30th birthday, Justin Verlander, you are hereby granted one look into the crystal ball. What are you going to be doing when you're 40? "Hopefully the same thing I'm doing now," he said. With a win total of? Verlander hesitated, but didn't duck the question. "With a win..." February 20

Detroit News "Over the long, barren winter from the last called strike of the World Series until the beginning of spring training, baseball is filled with debate and some controversy. But there can be no argument about this vital subject: Pitchers are a different classification of athlete. That is, if..." February 17

Detroit News "Team Tigers? Or Team USA. Justin Verlander couldn't do both. He had to choose — and he's chosen. "I am not going to play in the World Baseball Classic," Verlander said Monday after arriving at Joker Marchant Stadium, fresh from playing in the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in..." February 12

Bless You Boys "The negotiations between the Seattle Mariners and Felix Hernandez and the seven year, $175 million deal which resulted (which is yet to be finalized due to concerns over King Felix's elbow) has greatly magnified the contract status of the Tigers' Justin Verlander. Despite two years remaining on..." February 11

Detroit News "We've seen this from Justin Verlander before — like, oh, every time he starts a game. When the Tigers ace takes the mound these days, he starts with a low-90s fastball, so the right-hander has plenty in reserve to dial it up in the late innings. Well, he's doing somewhat the same thing on..." February 10

Bless You Boys "Justin Verlander is off playing golf in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am today, but he received some good news in regard to his future while on the course. Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners have just set the contract bar. A bar Verlander is almost guaranteed to leap over by a considerable..." February 07

Michigan Live "Justin Verlander helped the Detroit Tigers eliminate the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS, and then lost Game 1 of the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Verlander is back in California this week, for golf, so he won't be surprised if he there are a few jeers in the gallery of the AT&T..." February 05

CBSSports.com "Though Tigers ace Justin Verlander hasn't made a final decision, there is said to be new optimism that Verlander will join the Team USA for the WBC, baseball sources said. Verlander will decide by February 20 whether he can take a final pitching spot on the USA team. Verlander's inclusion would..." January 30

Detroit Free Press "Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander said earlier today that there was a chance he will pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in March -- but much would depend on how he is progressing at spring training. Verlander, the 2011 Cy Young Award winner and American League MVP, was making a..." January 26

Michigan Live "Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander is an ace on the mound. Now, he'll get a shot to knock in an ace at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. An avid golfer, Verlander is among more than two dozen celebrities that have committed to the upcoming tournament, to be held Feb. 7-10 in Pebble..." January 11

Detroit News "Don't expect him to be the crowd pleaser, dancing in bunkers while providing hilarious running commentary, like Bill Murray. We know Justin Verlander. And, no doubt, he will be out to win. The Tigers ace on Thursday officially joined the field of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, set..." January 11

Detroit News "One first-place vote, that's how close it was. One more first-place vote for Justin Verlander, and the Tigers ace today would be continuing the celebration of winning his second consecutive Cy Young Award. But it didn't happen, and there are several votes one could point to for Rays lefty..." November 16

Detroit News "Billy Crystal will be nowhere in sight. Likewise, no skits, dance routines, songs of the year, or concern for what the winners and presenters are wearing will be part of this week's gala awards ceremony in New York City. This is baseball. And while the game has its celebrity parallels to..." November 13

Detroit News "Billy Crystal will be nowhere in sight. Likewise, no skits, dance routines, songs of the year, or concern for what the winners and presenters are wearing will be part of this week's gala awards ceremony in New York City. This is baseball. And while the game has its celebrity parallels to..." November 12

Detroit News "They've not won anything yet, but two Tigers took a big step in that direction Wednesday. Despite an objection. Miguel Cabrera is one of five finalists for American League MVP and Justin Verlander is one of three for the AL Cy Young. But it was to Verlander's status the objection was..." November 08