Mets' Justin Verlander set for final test before return
Mets pitcher Justin Verlander looks out from the dugout before an Opening Day baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Miami. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
As he fiddled with a baseball in his right hand in front of his locker at Citi Field, Justin Verlander on Tuesday sounded 100 percent ready for the next step in his rehab from a shoulder-area muscle strain.
Verlander said his strained teres major (a muscle near his right armpit) is “99%” healed.
That final one percent will be tested on Friday, when the 40-year-old Verlander is scheduled to make his one and only rehab assignment at a minor-league venue to be determined.
After that, if all goes well, Verlander’s next outing would be his Mets debut on May 3 or 4 in Detroit. Verlander started his likely Hall of Fame career with the Tigers in 2005.
“I want to be back out there competing," Verlander said before the Mets hosted the Nationals. "It was tough. I take a lot of pride in being out there on the mound, being there for the boys. This is a bit frustrating, especially because it took a little longer to bounce back from [the injury] than we thought initially. But no point crying over spilled milk, so here we are."
Verlander, who threw a 43-pitch simulated game on Sunday, said “throwing feels absolutely wonderful. All positive signs . . . I think the physical hurdle was just getting this thing to heal. Even though it was a minor strain, it's in an area that you can't mess around with. It has to be completely healed before you step on the gas.
"It definitely is frustrating. It's hard for me to not be a part of and not want to help in some way, shape or form. But everybody behind the scenes is saying, 'Just wait, your time will be here.' "
At which minor league ballpark Verlander will be pitching on Friday is as up in the air as the weather forecast. Double-A Binghamton would seem to be the favored locale as it is the only one of the Mets’ four affiliates that will be home on Friday.
But rain could scuttle that plan and send Verlander to Florida to start for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets at Clearwater.
The Mets went into Tuesday at 14-9 despite missing four of their top five starters (the suspended Max Scherzer and the injured Verlander, Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco).
That has made it slightly easier for Verlander to deal with being out. But only slightly.
“It's tough, man,” he said. “I love this game. I love pitching. I love competing and I love being part of this team. And obviously, I said this last time, but not the way I envisioned or wanted my Mets career to start off. So I'm just going to do everything I can to get back out there and hopefully be able to hit the ground running.”
The Mets started rookie righthander Jose Butto against the Nationals. The 25-year-old was called up before the game and rookie reliever Edwin Uceta was placed on the 15-day injured list with a sprained left ankle.
The timing of Uceta’s injury was certainly lucky for Butto, who could not have been called up until Wednesday unless the Mets placed a pitcher on the IL on Tuesday because he had been sent down nine days earlier.
Butto made his first start of the season and second in two years on April 16 in Oakland. He allowed one run in five innings and got a no-decision in the Mets’ 4-3, 10-inning victory over the A’s.
The Mets will get Scherzer back on Monday against Atlanta after he finishes his 10-game suspension for pitching with extra sticky fingers on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
