Justin Verlander opts out of contract with Houston Astros

This past Saturday, Justin Verlander and his Houston Astros teammates defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-1 to clinch the 2022 World Series. Now, just five days later, it has been announced that Verlander has decided to opt-out of his contract with the Astros, making him a free agent. Just moments ago, the Major League Baseball Players Association communications department sent a press release announcing that four additional players have become free agents. Verlander is one of those players.

What other players are joining Justin Verlander as free agents?

Joining Justin Verlander as new free agents are Mychal Givens (Mets), Jordan Lyles (Orioles), and Tommy Pham (Red Sox).

Justin Verlander opting out comes as no surprise whatsoever. Even if he has already decided to sign a new deal with the Astros, Verlander would first have to opt-out of his current deal, which he has now done.

Verlander is a lock to win the American League Cy Young Award, and though he will be 40 years old for the 2023 season, you can bet a handful of teams will be willing to pay up for his services.

Nation, where do you think Justin Verlander will sign?

Full list of players hitting free agency with Justin Verlander

Here is a full list of the players who are hitting free agency via MLBPlayers.com:

Arizona Diamondbacks (2): Zach Davies, Ian Kennedy

Atlanta Braves (9): Ehire Adrianza, Jesse Chavez, Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, Jay Jackson, Luke Jackson, Kenley Jansen, Darren O’Day, Dansby Swanson 
 
Baltimore Orioles (4): Jesús Aguilar, Robinson Chirinos, Jordan Lyles, Rougned Odor 
 
Boston Red Sox (7): Xander Bogaerts, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill, J.D. Martinez, Tommy Pham, Matt Strahm, Michael Wacha 

Chicago Cubs (3): Wade Miley, Willson Contreras, Drew Smyly

Chicago White Sox (6): Jose Abreu, Elvis Andrus, Johnny Cueto, Josh Harrison, A.J. Pollock, Vincent Velasquez 

Cincinnati Reds (6): Chase Anderson, Mike Minor, Austin Romine, Donovan Solano, Hunter Strickland, Justin Wilson 

Cleveland Guardians (1): Austin Hedges 

Colorado Rockies (6): Alex Colomé, Carlos Estévez, José Iglesias, Chad Kuhl, Scott Oberg, Jose Ureña 

 
Detroit Tigers (3): Tucker Barnhart, Andrew Chafin, Daniel Norris 

 
Houston Astros (9): Michael Brantley, Jason Castro, Aledmys Díaz, Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini, Rafael Montero, Will Smith, Christian Vázquez, Justin Verlander

 
Kansas City Royals (1): Zack Greinke 

 
Los Angeles Angels (4): Archie Bradley, Matt Duffy, Michael Lorenzen, Kurt Suzuki 

 
Los Angeles Dodgers (13): Hanser Alberto, Tyler Anderson, Danny Duffy, Joey Gallo, Andrew Heaney, Tommy Kahnle, Clayton Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Martin, Jimmy Nelson, Kevin Pillar, David Price, Trea Turner 

 
Miami Marlins (0):  

Milwaukee Brewers (6): Josh Lindblom, Andrew McCutchen, Omar Narváez, Jace Peterson, Taylor Rogers, Trevor Rosenthal 

Minnesota Twins (9): Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy, Carlos Correa, Michael Fulmer, Billy Hamilton, Sandy Léon, Aaron Sanchez, Gary Sánchez, Miguel Sanó 

 
New York Mets (12): Chris Bassitt, Jacob deGrom, Mychal Givens, Tommy Hunter, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Tyler Naquin, Brandon Nimmo, Adam Ottavino, Joely Rodríguez, Taijuan Walker, Trevor Williams 

New York Yankees (10): Andrew Benintendi, Zack Britton, Matt Carpenter, Miguel Castro, Aroldis Chapman, Marwin Gonzalez, Chad Green, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Jameson Taillon 

Oakland A’s (2): Chad Pinder, Stephen Vogt 

Philadelphia Phillies (8): Chris Devenski, Zach Eflin, Kyle Gibson, Brad Hand, Corey Knebel, David Robertson, Jean Segura, Noah Syndergaard 

Pittsburgh Pirates (2): Ben Gamel, Roberto Pérez 

St. Louis Cardinals (2):  Corey Dickerson, José Quintana 

San Diego Padres (9): Josh Bell, Mike Clevinger, Brandon Drury, Pierce Johnson, Sean Manaea, Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar, Craig Stammen, Robert Suarez 

San Francisco Giants (5): José Alvarez, Brandon Belt, Shelby Miller, Joc Pederson, Carlos Rodon

Seattle Mariners (5): Matthew Boyd, Curt Casali, Adam Frazier, Mitch Haniger, Carlos Santana 

Tampa Bay Rays (3): Corey Kluber, David Peralta, Mike Zunino 

Texas Rangers (6): Kohei Arihara, Kole Calhoun, Charlie Culberson, Matt Moore, Martín Pérez, Kevin Plawecki 

Toronto Blue Jays (3): Jackie Bradley Jr., David Phelps, Ross Stripling 

Washington Nationals (8): Steve Cishek, Nelson Cruz, Sean Doolittle, Will Harris, César Hernández, Erasmo Ramírez, Joe Ross, Anibal Sánchez