Justin Verlander injury update: Mets ace aiming for April return from muscle strain as rotation struggles
Verlander provided a Friday update on his recovery
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
New York Mets right-hander Justin Verlander on Friday told reporters that he's "turned a corner" in his ongoing recovery from a teres-major muscle strain suffered during spring training and that joining the rotation within the month of April is a "very reasonable" possibility.
Verlander suffered the injury late in spring training and was placed on the injured list mere hours before the start of the regular season. The strain is classified as "low-grade," so such a prompt return was always a possibility and in keeping with the general timeline for such injuries.
The Mets signed Verlander this past offseason to a two-year, $86.67 million contract to, in essence, replace outgoing ace Jacob deGrom, who signed with the Rangers. Verlander last season with the world-champion Astros won his third career Cy Young award. Going into his age-40 season, he's just six wins shy of 250 for his career.
For the Mets, 3-4 going into Friday's home opener against the Marlins, Verlander's debut can't come soon enough. Co-ace Max Scherzer has struggled across his first two starts of 2023 (6.35 ERA and an NL-leading four home runs allowed), and veteran lefty José Quintana is out until at least July after undergoing surgery to repair a rib-cage stress fracture and remove a benign lesion.
