Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is returning to the Detroit Tigers, signing a one-year contract worth $13 million with the franchise where he spent the first 13 seasons of his career.

Verlander won 183 games with Detroit from 2005 to 2017 before departures that eventually led him to the Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. The 43-year-old joins a rotation headlined by two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and free-agent addition Framber Valdez.

The right-hander rebounded from an injury-plagued 2024 campaign with a 3.85 ERA across 29 starts last season for the San Francisco Giants. He threw at least 150 innings for the 16th time in his 20 MLB seasons.

Verlander struggled through the first half with a 4.70 ERA over 15 starts and missed nearly a month due to a pectoral strain. He surged after the All-Star break, ranking 12th in ERA (2.99) among pitchers with at least 65 innings in the second half.

The nine-time All-Star finished with 137 strikeouts, leaving him 148 away from tying Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven for sixth-most career strikeouts (3,701). Verlander currently ranks eighth all-time.

He sits 34 wins shy of joining the 24 other MLB pitchers who have reached 300 victories. No pitcher has achieved the milestone since Randy Johnson on June 4, 2009.

"I don't think it's out of the question," Verlander said in late September regarding winning his 300th game. "If I can make 29, 30-plus starts and give our team a chance to win for a few more years, then it's possible."

Verlander leads all active pitchers in career wins (266), innings (3,567 2/3), bWAR (82.2) and strikeouts (3,553). He also ranks eighth among active pitchers in career ERA (3.32).

This marks Verlander's 21st season since debuting with Detroit in 2005. He could become a trade deadline target for contenders seeking playoff experience, having posted a 3.58 ERA across 38 postseason games.