Justin Verlander is back. The Astros announced Wednesday that the 41-year-old right-hander has been reinstated from the injured list. Fellow righty Seth Martinez was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in his place. Verlander will start today’s home game against the visiting Red Sox — his first appearance since June 9.
Verlander opened the season on the 15-day IL after some shoulder discomfort popped up during spring training and slowed his progression through the annual exhibition season. He was activated on April 19 and made 10 starts out of the Houston rotation before heading back to the 15-day injured list, this time with a neck issue that has kept him out a fair bit longer than originally anticipated.
At the time of his placement on the IL, Verlander noted that he’d been dealing with the issue for weeks but added: “If this was playoff time, I’d like to think I’d be out there.” Despite that confidence, Verlander wound up missing more than two months with the injury.
When healthy, Verlander has been a solid but not dominant piece of the Houston rotation. He’s pitched 57 innings with a 3.95 earned run average, displaying a lower-than-usual 21.3% strikeout rate and an uncharacteristic susceptibility to home runs (1.74 HR/9). Verlander has seen a slight but hardly major bump in his homer-to-flyball ratio, but the larger problem is that he’s simply allowing more flyballs than ever before. This year’s 57% flyball mark trounces both the career 42% mark he carried into the season and last year’s 44.8% mark.
Even if Verlander doesn’t recapture his Cy Young form this season, the current version of the right-hander is still plenty helpful for an Astros rotation that has been stretched thin by a massive wave of injuries. Verlander’s strikeout rate is only about a percentage point shy of average, and his command remains quite strong (7.1% walk rate). He was averaging just over 5 2/3 innings per start prior to his second IL placement of the season.
Verlander will step back onto a starting staff that also includes Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, deadline acquisition Yusei Kikuchi and rookie Spencer Arrighetti. The plan for Houston moving forward seems to be to adopt a six-man rotation. That will help to mitigate concerns regarding Verlander’s neck as well as workload concerns for Blanco, who’s already set a new career-high for innings pitched, and Arrighetti, who’ll likely establish a new career-high during his next start.
Rotation depth beyond the six presently healthy starters in Houston is scarce. Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season. J.P. France underwent shoulder surgery. The ’Stros recently announced that righty Luis Garcia will not pitch this season. He’d been expected to return in the second half after undergoing his own Tommy John procedure early in the 2023 campaign, but did not recover as quickly as hoped. Lance McCullers Jr., who underwent flexor surgery last summer, was also expected to be a second-half reinforcement but is now similarly viewed as unlikely to return in 2024.
The extended length of Verlander’s stint on the injured list has effectively eliminated the possibility that he’ll be able to trigger the vesting player option in his contract. Had Verlander stayed healthy enough to reach 140 innings this year, he’d have triggered the right to pick up a $35MM player option for the 2025 season. The Astros would only have been on the hook for half of that sum, with the Mets covering the other $17.5MM as part of the trade that sent Verlander from Queens to Houston last summer.
Now, Verlander will simply become a free agent at season’s end. So long as he plans to continue pitching — he’s previously said he hopes to pitch into his mid-40s — there’ll likely be mutual interest in a reunion, but it won’t be as straightforward as Verlander picking up that pricey player option that’ll no longer come into play.
Just in time for the playoff push.
Push is right. Verlander’s definitely not out front pulling anyone he’s in the back pushing.
This guy wants a third ring. I don’t blame him.
I’ll miss him, though. I’ll cherish the opportunity to see him in his prime till I die.
I still hate him for being an Astro, though, as a Rangers fan.
When JV left for the Mets I thought “finally he won’t be killing my favorite team!” But then he came back
Yeah. Screw the ‘Stros. I hope you win the division. I hope Boch rests our players and start our bench players when we play against you.
The Mariners would need to turn the offense around quickly. They rank 20th in OPS-plus and 27th in runs per game. The White Sox are the only team with a worse slugging percentage. They also have the highest strikeout rate in the league. The pitching staff is incredible though.
Why would you miss and cherish another man? Talk about putting someone on a pedestal
I miss and cherish his 2017 world series ring, truly a blessed time.
So what are you going to say about a guy you watched growing up playing sports?
Don’t you want to say the same thing to other guys such as Ken Griffey Jr. or Albert Pujols?
Frog
Why wouldn’t one miss and cherish another man?
Also, they didn’t say that they cherished him. They said that they cherished watching him play
I think the 6-man rotation will be good until the end of the regular season since it’s starting to look like Blanco and Arrighetti are getting tired from the workload. Playoff rotation probably Verlander, Framber, Brown and Kikuchi, with Blanco and Arrighetti in bullpen. Just need the offense to keep chugging along because the pitching is usually good for 3-4 runs allowed.
I think they should move 1 of Ronel or Spencer to the bullpen. Imo Spencer, his stuff would be deadly if he made the transition to the bullpen successfully
My comment didn’t get posted for some reason. I think this is the end of JV’s tenure in Houston. They have more pressing needs – first base, outfield help.
We just hope JV can be some stabilization and an innings eater down the stretch, and help us have a deep playoff run.
Is he old enough to be somebodys grandaddy yet?
Lo, behold the tale of Justin Verlander, the aged warrior of the mound, whose return to the fray stirs both hope and trepidation. Methinks this noble pitcher, once a paragon of skill and might, now treads the delicate line ‘twixt glory and decline. Twice hath he been felled by ailments, those cruel and unwelcome guests, that robbed him of the chance to wield his arm in battle.
Is he the oldest player in the bigs? Rich Hill might get there. Jesse Chavez turns 41 today.
I think he’s the only one ahead of Chavez active right now when he starts tonight since he is half a year older. Hill would crush them if he appears this season at 44 though
This might be the last dance for JV, his age has finally gotten to him
Either he retires after this season or he spends 2025 on a 1 year deal in Houston, or Detroit???
This gives me Tom Brady 2022 vibes
@sad tormented neglected mariners fan
He’s going to pitch into his 50s. Guy’s a workhorse.
Brady is the GOAT. If he’s still in shape, he could probably still be a good backup QB. JV is hanging on to his career by thin thread.
Verlander is a 1st Ballot Hall of Famer.
Astros have holes in their rotation and @ multiple positions.
Astros look like a shell of their WS Championship teams.
If the Astros get hot @ the right time(now and through October) make a run, win an AL pennant and/or win a WS this year it will be a major shock and an upset.
The competition is going to be very t0ugh: Orioles, Yankees, Guardians, Royals, Twins, Phillies, Brewers, Braves, Dodgers, Padres, DBacks.
Any one of those teams could get hot and run the table @ this point in the season.
Verlander doesn’t have much left, but he was crafty enough to get through 5 innings of 2-run ball….
crafty can win a lot of games over the next 3 seasons to get him to 300.
IF the ’25 contract of 35 mil could be executed, by the Astros, without the innings being reached, and if the Mets would still be paying half, then it’s a no-brainer and if I were the Astros, I’d lock him up for next year after the post-season, if he pitches healthy rest of the way
Verlander’s dunzo. He’s going all out and will prolly ride into the sunset after the season….
If he is a free agent, I let him go. Houston needs to get on with some youth, besides getting player back from injury. I think you are in Playoffs this year. Does not look good for next year! Too many old guys!
Who are these “old guys” you mention ? These are the guys over 30.
Verlander 41 FA 2025
Altuve 34,
Pressly 35,
Kikuchi 33, FA 2025
Caratini 31,
Singleton 32,
Graveman 33 FA 2025
Scott 32,
Blanco 31
Verlander officially muted 🙂
No need to have a comma after “now” at the start of the final paragraph.