Perhaps the megawatt free agent the Mets and Yankees will grapple over this winter will not be Aaron Judge, but a well-decorated pitcher who would greatly enhance the starting rotation of either local ballclub in 2023.

Justin Verlander is expected to cop the AL Cy Young Award for the third time in his career Wednesday night, a remarkable accomplishment after he missed the entire 2021 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Even as he turns 40 in February, the slam-dunk future Hall of Famer would be a terrific short-term fit alongside former Astros teammate Gerrit Cole atop the Yankees’ rotation or as a high-end fallback replacement for Jacob deGrom alongside three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer with the Mets.

Verlander made only one start during the COVID-abridged 2020 season after beating out Cole for the Cy Young in 2019 in a close race (a 17-13 edge in first-place votes). Cole signed that winter with the Yankees on a nine-year deal worth $324 million, but they haven’t ended their drought over his first three seasons in The Bronx and are without a World Series appearance since 2009.