Justin Verlander Says He’s ‘Progressing Well,’ Hopes for April Mets Debut
The Mets have limped out of the gate this season, following a promising series in which they won three of four games at the Marlins with an embarrassing sweep on the road at the hands of the Brewers.
The injury bug has hit the team early, with Justin Verlander’s absence to start the year at the forefront. The 2022 AL Cy Young winner, who joined the team as a free agent this offseason, was placed on the 15-day injured list just hours before New York’s Opening Day game on March 30 with a low-grade teres major strain.
The team is being cautious as the 40-year-old star pitcher rehabs and prepares to ramp up for the season. Speaking to reporters ahead of the team’s home opener at Citi Field Friday, Verlander gave a very positive update on his status.
“Progressing well. Feel like I turned a corner a couple days ago,” he said. “The kind of general soreness I was having is dissipating quickly. All positive signs, just waiting for that to completely go away before I step on the gas.”
Verlander says his throwing “intensity” is at around 75% and, according to Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports, he believes it is “reasonable to expect he will return before the end of this month.”
“I can’t give you at an exact date, but I feel like I’m really close to being able to take the leash off,” Verlander said of his ability to start truly ramping up towards a season debut.
The Mets retooled their rotation in the offseason, adding Verlander and Kodai Senga to replace starters Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker. The rotation, including ace Max Scherzer, has struggled to start the year, however, with a total ERA of 5.71 through seven games.
