New York Mets fans may have been disappointed that the team gave up on Justin Verlander so quickly, but it sounds like at least one of the right-hander’s former teammates was not sad to see him go.
Mike Puma of the New York Post published a lengthy story over the weekend detailing what has gone wrong for the Mets during their incredibly disappointing 2023 season. Among the issues was chemistry, and one anonymous Mets player said Verlander had distanced himself from others in the clubhouse.
Verlander and Max Scherzer, who was also traded ahead of the deadline, did not have the best relationship when they were teammates with the Detroit Tigers from 2010-2014. They tried to work on that in New York, but the anonymous Mets player told Puma that Verlander acted like a “diva,” which did not sit well with Scherzer.
According to Puma’s source, Verlander complained about the Mets’ analytics department and how inferior it was to the one the Houston Astros have. Verlander was also detached from most of his teammates, according to the Mets player.
If all of that is true, Verlander was probably happy to end up back in Houston. Scherzer, who was traded to the Texas Rangers, did not seem upset about moving on, either, but he may have had a different reason.
