“Friend for life” – $90M Giants star opens up about relationship with Justin Verlander

One of baseball’s greatest-ever starting pitchers, Justin Verlander, is set to call time on his MLB career at the end of the season.

As the Detroit Tigers traveled to Oracle Park over the weekend, Verlander got the chance to head to one of his former stomping grounds, having spent the 2025 season playing for the San Francisco Giants.

Despite only spending one year with the team, Verlander left a lasting impact on several Giants players, and ace Logan Webb revealed the special relationship he shares with the 10-time All-Star while talking to reporters after Sunday’s series finale.

“Happy I was able to be on the mound, you know, I got to kind of tip my cap to him and clap for him. It was great,” Webb said (Timestamp: 2:48). “You know, he’s one of the greatest pitchers of all time and I was lucky enough to be around him for a year.

“I wish I could have spent ten years with him as a teammate, but I have a friend for life and a mentor for life. So it’s good to, like I said, tip my cap and kind of see him get his flowers.”

Having made his big league debut in 2019, Webb signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Giants in April 2023. The deal is set to keep him under team control through 2028.

“I intend on trying to give it my all” – Justin Verlander is committed to going out with a bang despite injury struggles

The 2026 season has been a challenging one for Justin Verlander, as left hip inflammation and a left hamstring strain have kept him on the IL for most of the campaign.

Speaking to The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen on June 20, the veteran revealed his mindset for the remainder of the year, claiming he is as determined as ever to do work hard and do well.

“I’ve always said I want to play until the wheels fall off,” Verlander said. “And I don’t know, maybe they are falling off. I hope not. This whole process has been agonizingly long for me. You guys have known me long enough.

“There’s no giving up. This is halfway through a season that I committed to the Tigers, and nobody envisioned it going this way. I also intend on trying to give it my everything until the season is over.”

Justin Verlander managed to make only one start for the Detroit Tigers this season before being sidelined by injury.