On Wednesday afternoon, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander was selected to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game as the American League Legend’s pick. Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was also named a Legend’s Pick on the National League team by the Commissioner’s office. Both will be honored during the All-Star Week festivities. Verlander also announced on his own social media that the 2026 season will be his last as a major leaguer.
The latter announcement comes as no surprise.
Verlander made his first start of the 2026 season back on March 30 in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. Shortly thereafter, he was shut down with a left hip impingement, spent April and May rehabbing the injury, and then injured his hamstring, keeping him on the 60-day injured list. What should have been his 20th full season in the major leagues has unfortunately become a retirement tour instead.
In Verlander’s statement, he acknowledged that “This season has challenged me in ways I haven’t experienced before, both physically and mentally.”
“I’ve always believed that as long as I could compete at the level I expect of myself, I’d keep playing. I never wanted to retire because of a milestone, a number, or a date on the calendar. I wanted the game to tell me when it was time.
“Over the last several months, I’ve realized that time has come. While I’m fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I’ve decided this will be my last. It’s fitting that I get to finish where it all started – with the Detroit Tigers, the organization that drafted me and gave me my first opportunity.”
Recent Commissioner’s “Legend Picks” included Clayton Kershaw in 2025, as well as both Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera in their final seasons.
Perhaps we’ll still see Verlander pitch a bit for the Tigers after the trade deadline, depending on the circumstances. More than likely he’s in his player-coach season, as we’ve seen him spending a lot of time talking with Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Casey Mize, as well as with the younger Tigers’ starters in the dugout during games.
The future Hall of Fame right-hander holds a 266-159 record with a career 3.33 ERA and 3554 strikeouts, 8th most all-time. He’s also 16th best all-time in terms of FanGraphs WAR, the leading active player in both strikeouts and WAR. He also holds an entire season’s worth of postseason performance, with 226 postseason innings pitched and a 3.58 ERA. Only Andy Petite has thrown more postseason baseball than Verlander.
Verlander is the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year, and won the 2011 AL MVP award, the 2011, 2019, and 2022 AL Cy Young awards. He won the 2017 and 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros.
Other than the All-Star Game selection, none of this is going to come as a surprise to Tigers fans. Unfortunately, preseason hopes for a resurgent season just haven’t panned out for the 43-year-old legend, and it’s been clear for a while now that this would almost certainly be his final season in the major leagues. We’ll enjoy having him around the franchise to mentor the younger pitchers, and he’ll no doubt remain around the franchise as a special assistant to the front office, just as his long-time teammate, Miguel Cabrera, has done, making the occasional appearance, dropping in for spring training and for various ceremonies. And it’s still possible we seem him on the mound at least one more time in Comerica Park before this season concludes.
Congratulations to a Tigers great, and one of the greatest to ever do it.
