Armed with a complete no-trade clause and personal postseason history strong enough to draw a crowd, Tigers ace Justin Verlander feels at ease amidst swirling trade speculation.
"I'm worried about pitching, I'm worried about recovery, I'm worried about what I have to do to be successful," Verlander said as multiple reports linked the Tigers and Cubs on trade talk centered around the veteran right-hander. "And the good news is my body and arm feel fantastic -- best it has in a long time."
At 34, Verlander is owed $56 million for the next two seasons and has an automatic vesting option for 2020 at $22 million should he finish in the top five in Cy Young Award voting.
"If the organization thinks it's best, if I think it's best for me -- there's a lot of variables that go into it," Verlander said. "Obviously where there's smoke, there's fire. It's not completely out of the realm of possibility, obviously."
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Verlander said his focus in recent weeks is not the trade deadline, rather refining his change-up, a pitch his been unwilling to use for fearing of getting beat by his worst pitch.
General manager Al Avila and Verlander have discussed any and all opportunities, a practice that predates the upcoming trade deadline. Verlander can veto a trade and said until something comes to his attention that makes him more willing to consider an address change, he's going to keep it simple, and "just go out and pitch."
Verlander is 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.520 WHIP this season. He has 92 strikeouts in 98 innings. His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Indians.
