Astros pitcher Verlander agrees to $66M extension

March 23 (UPI) -- Following in the footsteps of both Blake Snell and Chris Sale, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is set to be a very wealthy man.

ESPN reported that the Astros ace has agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $66 million through the 2021 campaign.

Reports started to circulate on Friday that a deal was close to happening, and Houston owner Jim Crane said Friday that there was interest on both sides to get a deal wrapped up.

Last season Verlander went 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA, leading the American League with 290 strikeouts.

He finished second to Snell in the American League Cy Young award voting.

Verlander came to Houston during the 2017 season after 13 seasons and six All-Star appearances with the Detroit Tigers, and helped the Astros win their first World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

He won the American League MVP award in 2011, going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA for Detroit. That season he led the AL in wins, innings pitched (251) and strikeouts (250).

In his 13 years with the Tigers, Verlander won 183 games, losing 114 with a 3.49 ERA. In his time with the Astros he has gone 21-9 with a 2.32 ERA.

Verlander has been a part of seven different postseason rosters, and in those playoff games has gone 13-7 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 games with 24 starts.

It is now three straight days that a top American League pitcher has agreed to stay put with their current team.

Sale on Friday agreed to a five-year deal worth $150 million with the Boston Red Sox. Snell on Thursday inked a five-year extension worth $50 million with the Tampa Bay Rays.