Tigers’ Justin – Justin Verlander’s much-anticipated return on Sunday is off after he was scratched with a left hamstring strain, following a hip injury that kept him out earlier this season.
The Detroit Tigers were already counting down to Sunday. when Justin Verlander would finally step back on the mound at Comerica Park for the first time since Aug. 20, 2017. Instead. the plan ended with a different sound from the bullpen—the left hamstring strain that led to Verlander being scratched. as he told reporters on Friday.
Verlander’s season resume has been painfully brief. He made just one start on March 30, allowing five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. After that, the hip injury that had sidelined him on a 60-day injured list cost him more time.
Sunday was supposed to be the next turning point. Verlander had signed a one-year. $13-million deal with the Tigers in the off-season for a second stint in Detroit. and it was his first start at Comerica Park since Aug. 20, 2017. But his left hamstring injury surfaced while he was throwing a bullpen on Wednesday. and Friday’s news made clear the return timeline has stretched again.
“This is not a matter of days,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s a matter of weeks. We’re going to need a full rehab process to get him back to throwing again. Obviously, frustrating news for him and for us, given the excitement that was building around his start on Sunday.”
Verlander. who at 43 is the oldest player in the MLB and the oldest active athlete in major North American professional sports. has been here before—but not like this. He had framed his comeback mindset around the idea that he wanted to keep playing “until the wheels fall off. ” saying: “I’ve always said I want to play until the wheels fall off. ” adding. “And I don’t know. maybe they are falling off. I hope not.”.
The frustration is immediate, but so is the work ethic. Even with consecutive injuries—hip, then hamstring—Verlander vowed he won’t quit on the Tigers this season and said he’ll keep pushing to get back to the mound. The hard part is that he also knows time is tightening around the decisions.
“Once (the season ends), I don’t know, man,” Verlander said. “It’s a different conversation now than it was last year when I seemed to be healthy.”
For someone who prides himself on controlling what he can, the newest setback carries a sharp edge. “I critique myself harder than anybody,” Verlander said. “I think I handle this no differently. If I can’t be healthy and I continue to prove that I can’t be healthy. that’s something that I have to really evaluate. … This is uncharted territory for me. and it sucks. but I think first and foremost right now it’s like. ‘Head down. work hard. get past this. try to get back out there for the Detroit Tigers and myself. and see what I can do.’”.
For the Tigers, the timing is what hurts. Verlander’s return had become a storyline built around one specific date and one specific ballpark. Now it’s rehab again—weeks, not days—while the game moves on and the opening chapter of his second Detroit run waits to be written.
Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers A.J. Hinch hamstring strain left hamstring Comerica Park MLB injuries 60-day injured list March 30 start hip injury
Hamstrings are the worst. Just end his season already.
Wait so he had a hip injury then now it’s a hamstring? That seems like the same problem just renamed lol. Tigers keep hyping him up and then boom.
I don’t even get it. If he’s the “oldest” guy then maybe his body can’t handle Texas sized practice or whatever. Also $13 million and he’s hurt again… that’s crazy.
So Sunday was supposed to be his return at Comerica and instead they scratched him after a bullpen? Honestly this is what happens when teams rush older players back. I swear it’s like every comeback story turns into “weeks” and then they’re still out by the time playoffs roll around.