Justin Verlander insinuates a changing of the guard in AL with Tigers decision

The Tigers officially re-introduced Justin Verlander as a member of 2026 team on Thursday morning in Lakeland. He will, as usual, be wearing No. 35, and seeing him back in the Old English D probably had some fans on the verge of tears — not that anyone would blame you.

In the 30(ish)-minute press conference, he delved into his decision to come back to Detroit. He acknowledged that a reunion seemed unlikely at the beginning of the offseason, but Reese Olson's surprise shoulder surgery opened the door back up.

And, when presented with the question of how he might view his legacy, he said, "Something that’s been on my mind towards the end of last year was playing for a team that had some meaning for me. I didn't want to be a mercenary that was hopping around. I felt like I really wanted to be somewhere that resonated with me and there were really two places, here and Houston, that I really have a lot of history with."

With Framber Valdez's addition and Verlander's re-addition, there's more Astros-Tigers crossover here than ever. Houston ruled the roost in the AL for the better part of a decade, but what we're seeing now might be a changing of the tides.

Justin Verlander explains his decision to return to Tigers after long free agency

Verlander and AJ Hinch won a World Series together in 2017, then Verlander and Valdez did it together in 2022, a year when they placed first and fifth in Cy Young voting, respectively. Hinch overlapped with Valdez for his first two seasons in the majors. And let's not forget about Jake Rogers, who came over in the Verlander trade and caught Valdez in the minors.

Valdez and Verlander's additions make the Tigers the easy favorites to win the AL Central, and maybe — just maybe — it'll be enough to get them over the ALDS hump.

Meanwhile, the Astros have done very little this offseason, apart from signing Tatsuya Imai to a three-year deal. That was a good move, but he'll still be a wild card until proven otherwise. In 2025, they missed the postseason for the first time since 2016 because of the Tigers, who held the Wild Card tiebreaker, and they've done little to move the needle back in their direction.

Of course, the Tigers still have some big fish to fry. The Blue Jays are the favorites to win the AL and the AL East as a whole still looks like a juggernaut. But the Tigers are well on their way.