As I sit here writing this, the Mets are about to take the field for their home opener (finally). This is a game that Justin Verlander was scheduled to pitch. But since he landed on the injured list, that honor is now going to Tylor Megill.
When can we expect the reigning American League Cy Young winner to get activated for his Mets debut? According to the hurler himself, it sounds like there’s a good chance it could be soon. Verlander underwent an MRI on Wednesday that showed positive signs of his injury improving.
Upon getting asked about when he might make his first start of the season, he said this (quote via New York Post):
I think [an April debut] is very reasonable. I haven’t put a timeframe on it but definitely suspect that. Worst-case is being stupid and re-injuring it, but I think that [timeframe] would be a very slow build from here.
It wasn’t a significant injury to begin with, but it’s nice to see that it’s more than trending in the right direction. The consensus was, ‘You are almost there, so match that up with the symptoms that you are feeling.’ Very mild, but I still feel a teeny bit of something.
FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar also shared the following video of Verlander discussing his injury and some of his plans for building his arm strength back up:
Justin Verlander with a somewhat encouraging update on his injury ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hoaKk7S1Gm
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) April 7, 2023
Verlander throwing throughout his IL stint has been key for this not turning into a longer-term issue. Getting him back into the rotation by the end of this month would be huge, both for him and the pitching staff.
The veteran hurler also mentioned he’ll do his best to convince team decision-makers that a minor-league rehab start isn’t necessary. As long as everything is completely healed and he feels ready to roll, of course.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
