:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72131598/1247742937.0.jpg)
April 17 update — Verlander has begun throwing bullpens, and manager Buck Showalter makes it sound as though a rehab assignment won’t be more than a week or so away as the MVP starts facing live hitters.
Buck Showalter says Justin Verlander's work day went "real well" today: pic.twitter.com/VAHs2UG3LV
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2023
He should be back before the end of the month.
April 10 update — Verlander seems very confident that he’ll be back sooner rather than later:
Justin Verlander (right teres major strain) expressed significant confidence that he can return before the end of April. He believes he can progress even faster than that. Much will depend upon how quickly the "teensy" bit of inflammation still there subsides.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 7, 2023
April 5 update — Verlander underwent a follow-up MRI on Wednesday that revealed reduced inflammation in the teres major muscle of his shoulder.
Mets announce that Justin Verlander’s follow-up imaging showed reduced inflammation in his shoulder. He’ll continue throwing.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) April 5, 2023
There’s still no timetable for Verlander’s return to game action — although given the time he’d need to build his arm back up, certainly weeks — but it’s a step in the right direction.
March 30 update — The New York Mets have announced that starting pitcher Justin Verlander is starting the 2023 season on the injured list. He has a low strain in the teres major, which is a muscle in the shoulder region near the joint that helps to produce arm movement. Verlander previously said he didn’t like how he was pitching this spring, and this injury could be why.
Justin Verlander will be placed on the IL with a low grade teres major strain. He will continue throwing at moderate intensity and we will rescan in a week. We will provide an update at that time.
— New York Mets (@Mets) March 30, 2023
Verlander signed a three-year deal with New York in the offseason. The veteran pitcher was coming off winning the 2022 AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros. It was the fifth time in his career that he won the award. He projected to be the second starter in the Mets rotation behind Max Scherzer and ahead of international star Kodai Senga. The initial expectation is that Verlander will be able to continue throwing and may be able to miss only a few scheduled starts to begin the year.
With the way spring training shaped up, Verlander was projected to make his Mets debut on Saturday against the Miami Marlins. New York has yet to name a replacement and if they will shift around the starts for Senga or Carlos Carrasco.