Justin Verlander to Retire After 2026 Season; MLB Names Him All-Star 'Legend Pick'

Justin Verlander, one of the most accomplished pitchers of his generation, said he will retire after the 2026 season as Major League Baseball named him to the American League All-Star team as Commissioner Rob Manfred’s special “Legend Pick.”

MLB.com’s Jason Beck reported July 8 that Verlander announced his plans in a social media post. MLB and MLB.com said Verlander will attend All-Star festivities in Philadelphia and be honored during the July 14 All-Star Game, but he will not be active for the AL roster.

That is because Verlander, 43, was on the Detroit Tigers’ 60-day injured list at the time of the announcement. MLB.com said he had been sidelined first by left hip inflammation, then by a left hamstring strain that delayed his return.

The retirement news carries unusual weight because Verlander is not simply a former ace nearing the end of his career. He is one of the defining starting pitchers of the 2000s and 2010s, with both the peak honors and the long-term production that place him among the most decorated arms of his era. His All-Star selection, while ceremonial, now doubles as an early public farewell.

Verlander’s résumé is among the strongest of any active pitcher. As cited by MLB.com on Wednesday, he had 3,554 strikeouts, ranking eighth on the all-time list at that moment, along with 266 wins and three no-hitters, in 2007, 2011 and 2019. He won Cy Young Awards in 2011, 2019 and 2022, was the 2011 American League MVP and the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year, and earned World Series titles in 2017 and 2022. MLB also noted that Verlander and Don Newcombe are the only players in major league history to win Rookie of the Year, a Cy Young Award and an MVP award.

His 2026 season had already carried a sense of homecoming. Verlander returned to Detroit on a one-year contract signed Feb. 10, rejoining the franchise that drafted him second overall in 2004. He made his major league debut with the Tigers on July 4, 2005, and built the foundation of a career that would make him one of baseball’s most recognizable stars.

In Beck’s July 8 MLB.com story, Verlander spoke about the physical toll of the season and the competing pull of family life. “My family is up here with me now,” Verlander said, according to MLB.com. “My son is turning 1, my daughter is 7. There’s a lot of things that are also going on in my life that are a draw away from the game.” He added: “But I’ve always said I want to play until the wheels fall off. I don’t know, maybe they are falling off. I hope not.”

The “Legend Pick” is a discretionary All-Star honor the commissioner can use to recognize marquee veterans outside the standard roster process, a device MLB has used in recent years for stars such as Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw. For Verlander, it means next week’s celebration in Philadelphia will serve not just as an All-Star appearance, but as an acknowledgment that one of baseball’s great pitching careers is nearing its end.