Mets take a page out of Dave Dombrowski’s book, pairing Max Scherzer with Justin Verlander

SAN DIEGO — In an earlier phase of his career, more than a decade ago, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski paired Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander atop the Detroit Tigers’ starting rotation and took his best shot at winning the World Series.

Now, the Phillies’ chief rival is taking a page from Dombrowski’s playbook in the hopes of doing what he did not: Winning a World Series.

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The New York Mets made a splash Monday on the first day of baseball’s winter meetings by agreeing with Verlander on a two-year, $86.66 million contract with a vesting option for 2025, according to multiple reports. The deal hasn’t been announced because it is pending a physical.

Verlander, who turns 40 in February, will essentially replace Jacob deGrom in giving the Mets a 1-2 rotation punch, only with the promise of making more than the 11 starts that deGrom provided last season. DeGrom fled New York on Friday night by agreeing to a five-year, $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers.

The Mets reportedly never got a chance to match the Rangers’ offer to deGrom, although it’s doubtful they would have. The Verlander contract represents another short-term flex by Mets owner Steve Cohen, the wealthiest man in baseball. Verlander’s $43.3 million average annual salary will match Scherzer’s record $43.3 million mark.

For five seasons, Verlander and Scherzer teamed up for Dombrowski-built teams in Detroit. They led the Tigers to four consecutive division titles and an American League pennant in 2012. But the Tigers somehow didn’t win a World Series with them, even though Verlander won the Cy Young Award in 2011 and finished second in 2012 while Scherzer won in 2013.

The Mets took the aces-high approach last winter when they signed Scherzer and twinned him up with deGrom. Although deGrom didn’t pitch until Aug. 2, the Mets led the NL East for most of the year. They finished with 101 wins and were passed by the Atlanta Braves on the season’s final weekend before losing to the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round.

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Verlander won his third Cy Young this season, going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts for the Houston Astros. The Phillies knocked him around for five runs in Game 1 of the World Series but were unable to dent him for more than one run in five innings of Game 5.