Donovan Mitchell celebrates New York Mets signing Justin Verlander to big contract

By David Akerman
Updated: December 5, 2022

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is a huge New York Mets fan, and he recently celebrated the team’s blockbuster acquisition of star pitcher Justin Verlander.

The first of many moves!! @Mets https://t.co/AC1PLlXxd1 pic.twitter.com/S5aShoLkSZ

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) December 5, 2022

The Mets were in need of a replacement for Jacob deGrom, who recently agreed to a massive five-year contract with the Texas Rangers. The move reunites Verlander with Max Scherzer, as the two were previously teammates on the Detroit Tigers.

After finding out that deGrom had left the Mets for the Rangers, Mitchell admitted that he didn’t even want to finish Cleveland’s game against the Orlando Magic on Friday. After the addition of Verlander, Mitchell is likely no longer feeling too sad about deGrom’s departure.

Verlander is coming off a 2022 season in which he won his third Cy Young award. He went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 28 starts for the Houston Astros, who won the World Series by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies.

While Mitchell has never been shy about his fanaticism for the Mets, he is surely more focused on helping the Cavs win a title of their own this season. The team is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-9 record.

Mitchell is currently averaging 28.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while knocking down 48.8 percent of his shots from the field and 42.1 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

He’s been everything the Cavs hoped for when they acquired him from the Utah Jazz in a blockbuster trade over the offseason.

Cleveland is now set to open up a three-game home stand on Tuesday against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won eight of their last 10 games and are one of the hottest teams in the league.

The Cavs will have to keep a close eye on big man Anthony Davis, however. The eight-time All-Star is averaging 35.3 points, 15.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.9 blocks per game on 64.8 percent shooting from the field over his last nine games. He’s been looking like a prime MVP candidate recently.

Tuesday’s matchup is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised on TNT.