Yes but not a starter for that many years.

And steroids

1/2 I would be suspicious of such substance use if the player was gradually but steadily declining in power and then had a renewed burst of it. I don't know what Verlander's situation has been but Nolan Ryan did not really lose any juice until his final injury that ended his career.

2/2. Now, if the player was a veteran NFL kicker who, in his mid 30s in his first season with a dome stadium team, struggled to make longer field goals and touchbacks in the k-ball era but in the folliwing seasons had a renewed burst of range with long field goals and touchbacks, then I'd think sus.

Every baseball athlete ever that played during the existence of anabolic steroids prior to testing becoming an actual thing is sus. Athletes have always done whatever to give themselves a competitive advantage in addition to their literal livelihoods being attached to their performance.

Additionally cheating has always been a thing in baseball.