PHOENIX — In spring training, teams will hide certain pitchers from division foes so hitters don’t get familiar with someone they’ll face in the regular season. That, apparently, was why the Giants sent Justin Verlander to their nearby minor-league camp on Saturday instead of starting him in their Cactus League exhibition against the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch in Glendale.
Verlander threw three innings and 42 pitches against a makeshift lineup that included Giants minor-leaguers and one big-leaguer, Willy Adames. There were no fans, a few reporters, some front-office officials, and a couple dozen pitching prospects seated in the two rows behind the backstop — a cool learning experience to see a future Hall of Famer in action.
As it turned out, the Giants weren’t hiding Verlander at all. After Saturday’s outing, when a reporter asked about pitching at the Papago Park facility instead of against the reigning champion Dodgers, he interrupted the question to ask, “How far away is that stadium?”
When he was told 40 minutes, he smiled and said, “I think that’s why I’m here. They’re trying to do me a favor.”
Alrighty then. That’s the beauty of spring training. Anything goes. The Giants simply saved the 42-year-old a longer trip, which is commonplace this time of year.
Accomplished veterans get perks, especially those of Verlander’s stature. Before signing a one-year, $15 million deal to pitch in San Francisco, the man compiled 262 wins and 3,416 strikeouts and claimed three Cy Young Awards. He deserves what he gets.
Anyway, Verlander said of the Dodgers, “I’d rather get a taste of them in the real season.”
That won’t happen anytime early in the season. The longtime rivals don’t face off until June 13 at Dodger Stadium. Meantime, Verlander is experiencing some firsts as he approaches his 20th big-league season. This is his first spring training in Arizona — his previous teams, the Tigers, Astros and Mets, all trained in Florida — and it’s the first time he’ll participate in a classic rivalry.
“I definitely didn’t have one like this, which has so much history behind it,” Verlander said.
Nothing came close to Giants-Dodgers when he made the rounds in Detroit, Houston and New York. In his early years, he said, the Tigers’ rival was whichever was the best team in the American League Central, first the White Sox and then the Indians. In Houston, there was somewhat of a rivalry with the Rangers, “though it never really felt like one until recently.”
Verlander said he felt a rivalry with the A’s, a team he faced twice in the playoffs as a Tiger and opposed in division races as an Astro — “The Athletics got really good there for a period of time. That was fun. And I loved that stadium. That stadium was pretty raucous. … Rest in peace.”
Because of the dry heat in Arizona as compared to the higher humidity in Florida, Verlander was warned early in camp that breaking pitches don’t snap as much and balls off the bat tend to fly to distant regions.
An example came right away Saturday. Adames, the leadoff hitter, crushed Verlander’s third pitch over the left-field wall. Because this was an informal setting, Adames didn’t run the bases, and Verlander immediately asked him about his swing.
“You hit it that good, Willy?”
Adames gave a hand gesture as if to say “so-so.”
Verlander explained later what he meant:
”The fastball he hit out, at first I didn’t think he hit it that great, so I wanted to know from him,” he said. “I didn’t want my eyes to be off because I didn’t think it was a great swing, which he would agree with, I think. But he’s a great hitter, so he can take his B swing and still do damage like that. I was interested in what he saw out of my hand, pitch recognition stuff.”
“Hit that good, Willy?” Justin Verlander throwing at Giants’ minor-league facility, and his first batter cleared the wall, Willy Adames. Pretty cool setting in the Arizona desert. pic.twitter.com/9K9B74GqjE
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) March 1, 2025
Verlander appreciated that Adames was present to get at-bats. In fact, there were 11 plate appearances against the right-hander, and five of them belonged to Adames, who was 2-for-4 with a walk. The minor-leaguers went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. One of them was Jhonny Level, a 17-year-old out of Venezuela who was badly fooled by Verlander’s repertoire, which suddenly included an extra pitch Saturday.
Verlander threw his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup and added a sweeping horizontal motion to his curve with a simple grip adjustment. He experimented a couple of times with the new pitch, impressing the batters and pitching coach J.P. Martinez, who’s a mere six months older than Verlander and confessed he’s learning from the old master.
“That’s probably the thing I’ve been most impressed with,” Martinez said. “He’s in his 20th season and is a sure-fire Hall of Famer but wants to get better, wants to work on his lower half, wants to add a pitch. That’s been a cool example to set for all the younger guys, a guy who’s so accomplished and wants to get better.”
Because of where Verlander is slotted in the rotation, he’s on target to begin the season as the No. 2 starter behind Logan Webb and start the home opener against Seattle on April 4 at Oracle Park. Opening Days are nothing new for Verlander, but he seems as giddy as ever about the opportunity.
“It’s a great honor especially for a new ballclub,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go until then, but I try not to take these Opening Days for granted. They’re pretty special events. All the fanfare and excitement. It’s always pretty amazing. My first one ever in Kansas City, I had a B2 bomber fly over. It was sick. I just think the more perspective I get in the game, the more I try to soak it all in and appreciate it.
“It’s hard when I’m pitching, though. I don’t really get to experience it much because I’m focused on my routine, but I love the opportunity. I think most players enjoy the Opening Day stuff just as much of the fans. I try to, anyway.”