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The New York Mets traded three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros for two top prospects, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Verlander spent the past 4 1/2 seasons with the Astros before departing as a free agent and signing a two-year, $86.7 million with the Mets.

Verlander, 40, is 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 16 starts with the Mets.

New York received outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in the deal. Gilbert is rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Astros’ organization by MLB Pipeline. Clifford is rated No. 4.

After the Mets traded pitcher Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers over the weekend, Verlander stated after recording his 250th career victory on Sunday that he was open to a trade.

“I think it largely depends on how the organization views next year,” said Verlander, a nine-time All-Star Game selection. “I think Max is a tough sign for trying to go back at it. So, I’m committed to trying to win a championship here, but if the organization decides that that’s not exactly the direction that they think is a best fit for next year and go for it again next year then yeah, I would be more open to it.”

Verlander is 250-138 with a 3.24 ERA in 498 career starts with the Detroit Tigers (2005-17), Astros (2017-22) and Mets.

Verlander was American League MVP and Cy Young winner in 2011 for the Tigers. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 for Houston.

The Mets set a major league record with a $355 million for this season but have traded away three veteran pitchers in front of the deadline, beginning with reliever David Robertson to the Miami Marlins.

New York got a prized prospect from Texas in minor league infielder Luisangel Acuna, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. Now they have two more in Gilbert and Clifford.

Gilbert was a first-round pick (28th overall) by the Astros in 2022.

Gilbert, 22, is batting .274 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs in 81 games this season between Class A and Double-A.

Clifford, 20, is batting .291 with 18 homers and 61 RBIs in 83 games at two Single-A stops this season.

Clifford was an 11th-round pick in 2022.

–Field Level Media