Verlander says fate will decide Tigers reunion: 'I think about it'

Justin Verlander ponders about returning to the Detroit Tigers before ending his storied 19-year career but understands there are a lot of factors at play.

"Obviously, I think about it," Verlander said Friday with his Houston Astros in Detroit for a three-game series, according to Evan Petzol of the Detroit Free Press. "You come back here, and obviously, it has to be on your mind. But as far as signing with the Tigers and coming back here, that's fate. I don't know. That's something that's out of my control. It's an unanswerable question."

Verlander will make his seventh career start against the Tigers on Sunday, including his fifth in Detroit since a September 2017 trade ended a 13-year run with the club.

"It'll always feel a little special," Verlander added. "The more removed you get, the less people you know on the other side, and that kind of changes it a little bit, but I think it'll always be special for me to come back here."

The 41-year-old right-hander is in the last guaranteed year of his contract but has a 2025 vesting option for $35 million if he pitches over 140 innings this season.

Verlander, a three-time Cy Young winner, could potentially be on the trade block this summer as the Astros continue to work through an early-season slump. He was dealt back to Houston last August in a deal with the New York Mets.

Meanwhile, the Tigers look like a team that could contend for a wild-card spot or a division title in the surprisingly competitive AL Central.