Will new SF Giants pitcher be able to reach 300 career wins?

In a bit of a surprise, the SF Giants added Justin Verlander on a one-year deal earlier this month. Verlander does not need to throw another pitch to be a slam dunk Hall of Famer, but he is looking to add another notch to his belt by reaching 300 career wins. Can he do it?

Will new SF Giants pitcher be able to reach 300 career wins?

As great as Verlander's career has been, I think it serves as a reminder that the 300-win mark is such an improbable accomplishment in baseball. This is especially true now that pitchers are throwing fewer innings in an effort to optimize their workload. There are not as many opportunities to accumulate win totals as there have been in the past.

Besides Verlander, there is just no active pitcher who is even reasonably close to 300 wins. Verlander currently sits at 262 wins followed by Max Scherzer at 216 and Clayton Kershaw at 212. All three pitchers are on the downside of their respective careers, so it is Verlander or no one from that group who can reach the 300-win mark.

Of course, the last pitcher to win 300 games was Randy Johnson with the Giants in 2009. The tall lefty secured that win on a wet day in Washington against the Nationals in early June of that season. He was in the midst of his 22nd season to finally reach that accomplishment.

Johnson became the 24th pitcher in baseball history to reach 300 wins. There was a stretch of great pitchers joining that elite club starting with Roger Clemens in 2003. Greg Maddux reached 300 career wins in 2004 followed by Tom Glavine in 2007.

There is still a good chance that no one reaches 300 wins in the near future. Verlander has the best shot. That said, injuries have started to pile up as he missed the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was limited to just 17 games last year due neck and shoulder discomfort.

The veteran hurler needs 38 wins to reach that mark and wants to pitch until he is 45. He might just need to pitch that long to have a shot at 300 wins. Verlander tallied only five wins last season and was the first season he did not reach double-digit wins in a full season since he was with the Detroit Tigers in 2015.

The 2025 season could be another stepping stone in one of the great careers of any pitcher in baseball history. Time is not on Verlander's side at this point, but he recorded 13 wins in a season as recently as 2023.

The 19-year veteran will need to stay healthy and have a little luck on his side to continue that pursuit. He will need to average 9.5 wins per season over the next four years to reach 300 wins, which would also place him in his age-45 season. It might be a tough task but if he is able to reach 10 or more wins with the Giants in 2025, that will improve his odds.