Justin Verlander’s departure from the New York Mets after just half a season is one of the main disappointments of a season the franchise is already trying to forget.
As he and Max Scherzer, who was dealt to the Texas Rangers prior to Verlander’s trade to the Houston Astros, focus on a postseason run, many have been searching for answers as to what went wrong in Queens this season as they were not supposed to be below .500 at this point in the campaign.
Verlander was called a "diva" by "a Met," according to the New York Post, as he was "detached" from his teammates while allegedly complaining about how the Mets’ analytics department didn’t match up to that of the Astros.
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Also, his relationship with Scherzer, which was rocky during their time together on the Detroit Tigers earlier in their careers, reportedly wasn’t the best. The Post added that Verlander being a "diva" led to some words from Scherzer.
Verlander addressed those rumors on social media on Monday.
"I want to say that I have nothing but respect for the Mets organization and I enjoyed connecting with all of my teammates this season…new and old!! It truly was a wonderful group of people," he began.
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"That being said, we all know the success of a team is made up of more than just the players on the field, everyone’s input is valuable. I’m sorry to hear that a staff member took offense to constructive criticism on how we could improve.
"Wishing nothing but best to the Mets moving forward."
Mets owner Steve Cohen admitted that the team’s focus is now on the future after 2023 went awry. He was aggressive in landing the likes of Verlander, Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga this offseason to bolster the rotation, which was a solid unit in 2022 amid a 101-win campaign.
But Verlander’s tenure with the Mets began with injury, as he didn’t pitch in the regular season until May 4. And when he did return, he didn’t look like the 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner, as he was slow to start.
Verlander eventually returned to his old, dominant self with a sub-2.00 ERA in July. However, the Mets were already consumed by their losing, and Cohen made the executive decision to allow GM Billy Eppler to start selling to get young pieces for a solid future.
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The Astros sent two of their top prospects in return for Verlander, while Scherzer’s deal with the Rangers got the Mets Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr.
"We kind of got off on the wrong foot," Verlander told reporters in early August, per the New York Post. "Everything that could go wrong did early. Even though we started playing some good baseball at times, we never really hit our stride where we were kind of banging on all cylinders. I can’t answer exactly why that is."
Since rejoining the Astros, Verlander has a 3.46 ERA in two starts, allowing five earned runs over 13 innings. Meanwhile, Scherzer’s time with the Rangers has produced a 2.77 ERA with four earned runs allowed over the same amount of innings.
