MLB star set for fresh start after being booed in front of wife Kate Upton
The New York Mets have traded right-hander Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros, marking the end of the pitcher's brief tenure after he signed a two-year, $86.7 million contract with the organisation last offseason. New York received top prospect Drew Gilbert and minor leaguer Ryan Clifford in return.
Despite Verlander's impressive 3.15 ERA entering Tuesday's trade deadline, he endured a rocky relationship with Mets fans. He took about a month to find a groove with the team — and the response was unforgiving.
A Citi Field crowd booed him during a May outing with his wife, Kate Upton, in attendance. He told reporters he played "like s***" in that game.
"Not a lot of positives to take out of it," he said. "I guess the only positive is that I know I got some work to do. "I already started looking at some video trying to find. I think there's a little something off of my mechanics. I need to fix it, and I need to fix it in a hurry."
On the boos, the three-time Cy Young award winner added: "I understand the fans are frustrated; we're frustrated, too. We expect to be better. I expect to be better. I think this entire organization expects to be better, and there's only one thing left to do, and that's put your head down, work hard and find your way out of this slump. There's teams that click at the right time and find their mojo and go from there."
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New York have sold off several integral roster pieces in recent days, giving up on a doomed 2023 campaign that never got off the ground. They traded right-hander Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers and outfielder Mark Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers.
A 50-55 record entering Tuesday's action leaves them in fourth place in the NL East, 17.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the division and six games out of a wild-card spot. They took a different approach from the San Diego Padres, who decided to bolster their roster rather than sell despite a record just one game better than the Mets.
Justin Verlander posted a 4.80 ERA in May but has bounced back since then. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Given the dismal season for New York, Verlander may feel relieved to go to Houston, where he won the World Series twice - including last season - and enjoyed some of the best years of his career. He recorded a 2.21 ERA in 102 regular-season starts with the Astros. The club expect to contend for another championship this year and are neck-and-neck with the Rangers in the AL West.
As Verlander departs, the passionate Mets fan base will likely need to stomach a rough final two months of the campaign as their team tries to rebuild on the fly. Regardless, they will undoubtedly jeer players if they don't see the results they want.
"People come out here and want to see the Mets win, want to see us do well, and they get frustrated just like we do," manager Buck Showalter said.
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