Former Old Dominion pitcher Justin Verlander traded to the Astros

HOUSTON, Texas – After 13 seasons in the Motor City with the Detroit Tigers, Justin Verlander is headed to the Houston Astros, the team tweeted early Friday morning.

Old Dominion’s all-time strikeout leader had the final say in his destination with a full no-trade clause in his contract. That gave the right-handed pitcher the discretion to veto any trade that wasn’t to his liking.

Thank you to Detroit for an incredible 13-seasons, a city that will always be important to me. But now I couldn’t be more excited to join the Astros and am looking forward to getting started right away. I am committed to making an impact off the field, especially during such difficult times. My Foundation, Wins for Warriors, will continue to do the great work we have started in Detroit, but will also expand to Houston effective immediately and get involved with aiding the #HurricaneHarvey disaster relief efforts. @winsforwarriors

A post shared by Justin Verlander (@justinverlander) on Sep 1, 2017 at 1:00pm PDT

In 13 major league seasons, Verlander has won the AL Cy Young Award (2011), pitched two no-hitters (2007, 2011), and earned an MVP (2011). Verlander pitched for the Monarchs from 2002-05.

In 28 starts this season, Verlander is 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA.