The San Francisco Giants signed Justin Verlander last offseason to give their rotation some veteran leadership. The Giants could do it again this offseason.
It could be Verlander, who admittedly didn’t have the best season in 2025 but wants to continue to pitch as he pursues 300 career wins. It could also be Max Scherzer, who just wrapped up a World Series run with the Toronto Blue Jays and was coached in college by new Giants manager Tony Vitello.
Whether the Giants pursue the legendary veterans will be up to president of baseball operations Buster Posey. But, team chairman Greg Johnson did have some words about the pair in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) — three, in fact.
The first word in the two-sentence quote was “options.” That is true. Both are free agents after the season and have not expressed a desire to wrap up their careers. Verlander will be entering his age 43 season in 2026. Scherzer will be entering his age 41 season.
The second word was “studs.” No argument there.
Verlander went 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA in 2025. He did pitch 152 innings and struck out 137 as he moved into No. 8 all-time in career strikeouts, passing franchise legend Gaylord Perry. He also walked 52.
But for his career? He’s a two-time World Series champion, a three-time Cy Young winner, a former MVP, rookie of the year and pitching triple crown winner who has a career record of 266-158 with 3,553 strikeouts.
Scherzer has two World Series rings, three Cy Young awards and eight all-star appearances. He just became the second player to make a World Series appearance with four different teams and the first to start two Game 7’s for different teams. He went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 2025, but he is 221-117 lifetime with a 3.22 ERA.
The third word was “risky.” That’s obvious, given their age. Here is Johnson’s full quote.
“Certainly, they’re options. Scherzer and Verlander are just complete studs, but it’s always risky at that age counting on them in your starting rotation for a year,” he said.
Does either fit in next year’s rotation? Right now, the Giants have Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Carson Whisenhunt, Landen Roupp, Trevor McDonald and Carson Seymour on their depth chart in the starting rotation. Verlander or Scherzer would surely be competitive with Roupp, McDonald and Seymour for a rotation spot.
But, as Johnson noted, these studs are options that are risky.
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