Outside of his quest to reach 300 wins, there isn¡¯t much left to accomplish for likely future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. But he still has another goal in mind as he embarks on his 20th Major League season with the Giants, who finalized a one-year, $15 million deal with the three-time Cy Young Award winner on Saturday.

¡°I think, personally, [it¡¯s] proving that I still have it,¡± Verlander said during his introductory Zoom call with reporters on Monday. ¡°I've accomplished enough in my career. I wouldn't be back if I didn't think I could be great.¡±

Verlander will be 42 next month and recorded a career-worst 5.48 ERA over 17 starts with the Astros last year, but he¡¯s only two seasons removed from his third Cy Young Award and believes he¡¯s learned from the shoulder and neck injuries that hampered him in 2024.

For the first time in his career, Verlander kept throwing all offseason, which he hopes will help him avoid more setbacks with his shoulder in the future. He said he¡¯s already up to 92 mph and feels he¡¯s ¡°miles ahead of where I was last year at this time.¡±

¡°I think you can tell that the passion is still there. The fire is still burning,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I'm really viewing this past year's issues as [having the] potential to send me down the path that I want to go down to finish my career and be able to play until 45 or more. It's not too dissimilar to 2014, '15. I ended up having core issues and core surgery. And what I learned through that process really was what allowed me to pitch the way I have up until last year.¡±

Verlander said the Giants weren¡¯t on his radar at the beginning of the offseason, but he became intrigued by the team¡¯s upside after speaking with president of baseball operations Buster Posey.

¡°I think when we started having the conversation a couple of weeks ago, it was very evident just how motivated he is,¡± Posey said. ¡°You don¡¯t get to the level of greatness that he¡¯s accomplished in his career without having the utmost fortitude and desire to be the best. When I think about pitchers of this generation, to me, Justin is at the top. For him to come to San Francisco, continue his career, and build on his Hall of Fame resume is very exciting for us.¡±

Verlander is likely to slot in behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray in the Giants¡¯ rotation and said he¡¯s looking forward to mentoring young starters like Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp this spring.

¡°As I¡¯ve gotten older, more mature, especially as a father, learning to communicate better, I really feel like I¡¯ve been able to take those blinders off and be more of a help to the younger guys around me,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I think it¡¯s something that I¡¯m continually working on, and I get a lot of reward from that now. It¡¯s really cool coming into camp and having some guys who are young with a high ceiling that I really just want to lay eyes on.¡±

While Verlander¡¯s contract is now official, he¡¯s still in the process of deciding which number he¡¯ll wear in San Francisco. Verlander has worn No. 35 for almost his entire career, but that number is synonymous with beloved Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who announced his retirement in November.

¡°I'm still putting a lot of thought into this,¡± Verlander said. ¡°Obviously, Brandon has had a legendary career there. I know that Buster reached out to him personally, and he gave his blessing, but I haven't spoken to him yet personally. I don't know how the fans feel. I don't want to come in on a bad foot, you know?

"I'm hopeful that when I speak with Brandon, I'll get a little more clarity.¡±