Astros ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander has been diagnosed with a forearm strain and has been shut down, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. An MRI yesterday revealed the strain. Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Verlander will be shut down “for a couple of weeks” before he is re-evaluated.
Verlander started the Astros’ season opener on Friday and notched his first win of 2020, throwing six innings of two-run baseball, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. In that start against the Mariners, Verlander’s fastball averaged 94.9 mph and reached as high as 96.7, according to Statcast. Last year, his average fastball velocity was 94.6 mph. He threw 73 pitches, but there weren’t any outward signs that the 37-year-old suffered an injury. Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Verlander later told the Astros that his right arm was “tender” during Friday’s game.
He was scheduled to make his next start on Wednesday against the Dodgers. As of now, Baker and the Astros haven’t decided who will replace Verlander on the bump.
Verlander had already encountered his fair share of health troubles during the spring, with a lat strain and right groin surgery forcing him to rehab during the season’s coronavirus-necessitated delay, but he recovered well and was a full go in Spring Training 2.0.
Needless to say, any injury to the staff ace is a crippling blow to one of this year’s World Series favorites. Even with Verlander anchoring the staff, there were doubts about the Astros rotation after the departure of co-ace Gerrit Cole in the winter. With Lance McCullers Jr. coming off Tommy John surgery and Josh James and Jose Urquidy yet to prove themselves capable of shouldering a bigger workload, it was no secret that the Astros rotation would be unable to replicate last year’s historic success.
Of course, Baker’s phrasing means there’s hope that Verlander will be back on the field in a matter of weeks, and if that’s the case, the Astros’ depth would likely allow them to patch together a rotation in the meantime. But if the forearm strain necessitates a long-term IL stint, as we know any arm injury can, the Astros will face much greater problems.
In light of Verlander’s injury, the likes of Zack Greinke, McCullers, James, and Jose Urquidy will step into bigger roles in the Houston pitching staff. That’s not a bad unit, and Greinke has the track record of an ace, but Houston’s depth will undoubtedly be challenged by Verlander’s absence, however long it may be.
An earlier version of this story stated that Verlander would miss the remainder of the season, as per this report. As of now, that is not correct; the only timetable given by the Astros is that Verlander’s forearm strain will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks.
wow, that’s rough
Bad news.
You can say that again
Bad news.
As much as the whole scandal turned me away as a distant fan of the ‘stros, their pitchers never benefited from all the shenanigans. And, I have been a fan of Verlanders his whole career. Such a competitor! Very bummed for him (less so for his team…..) but feel badly that he’s out.
You have to question whether or not their pitchers have cheated in a different form, though. Remember Bauer calling them out on it because they’re spin rates go up a ton when they arrive in Houston? There hasn’t been any evidence, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did something to get an advantage.
Bauer actually admitted to having a foreign substance in his belt on an HBO Real Sports interview. No one here is a saint to be acting all holy.
He did that to prove his point that foreign substance could increase spin rate. He wasn’t doing it to cheat. But I wouldn’t expect an Astros fan to want to add correct context.
Never benefited? I’m sure having a lead changes the way a pitcher attacks a hitter, especially when you know your offense has an advantage and is more prone to score runs because of it. It allows for you to be more aggressive with your pitching.
pitchers benefited from artificially enhanced offense. they won more!
You are out of your mind if you think they didn’t benefit from the scandal. You pitch differently up by a few runs than tied. You save your top relievers for closer games,which does not tax your pen. What is wrong with you.
It seriously couldn’t happen to a nicer guy! LOL
That ring around his finger benefited from the trash can wins. So maybe not the pitch he threw but being in playoff games and world series you didn’t earn is a benefit
Fair enough. All points well taken.
Of course the Astros’ elevated offense has an effect on not only how a pitcher approaches hitters but also effect on how a manager maneuvers his entire bullpen.
Leave it to Dusty Baker to ruin another SP arm….
Man. I was going to say that.
I always liked Dusty when he managed the Reds but he sure can destroy a starting pitcher’s career. Cueto, Latos, Bailey, Arroyo were never the same after a few years under him. He would have ruined Chapman too if he hadn’t been converted to closer.
Strasburg. Then there’s Wood & Prior. And reaching back, Russ Oriz, Livan Hernandez
Bang bang
Real mature.
His wife
So, “Nick”, how many screen names is that for you now? If MLBTR charged for changing screen names, they would be out of financial troubles in 30 days from you alone.
As good as the Astros lineup is (probably the best in baseball), I just can’t see them having success with their pitching being so poor
Yes. Look at the Angels. A very good lineup but awful, awful pitching limits them. Unfortunately, though Grenke was a good pickup he’s not the answer at the top of the rotation.
You can’t expect to win games 11 -10 every night.
Why not? That’s the Red Sox plan this year.
You’d rather be a Mets fan and win 1-0 every game?
Seems to be going well for them this far against the mighty Orioles…
Astros line up probably best in baseball? You can’t be serious!
We should all bang on a trash can in his honor tonight.
And of course someone chimes in with a crass comment as I am typing my other one. Kudos.
Heyyo!
Comment of the day. Thank you
The bar for what entertains you is sadly low.
I hope we don’t see a lot of stupid jokes about cameras or trash cans or karma or whatever here. It sucks that one of the greatest pitchers of this generation is out for the year regardless of which franchise he plays for. And I say that as a fan that is completely indifferent to the Astros.
Agreed, it’s very trashy.
Yes
He’s not the greatest of his generation
Calm down greatest of generation. He’s won 2 Cy Young awards and MVP that’s great. He also is 0-6 with 5.68 ERA in WS. Verlander also part of biggest cheating scandal in game while being complete phony.
If he isn’t, who is? You said it in your comments, 2 Cy Young’s, an MVP. I’ll add 3,000 Ks and 226 wins.
A phony, for playing for a team that had that system installed before he got there? C’mon, that’s just ridiculous.
“One of”
If your gonna bash at least read the comment
He edited in “one of the greatest.” In the original, he definitely said the greatest lol
Perhaps you should bash…a trash can
No I didn’t. I said one of the greatest right from the beginning. Just stop and admit you made a mistake, especially when it is obvious. You didn’t reply until over an hour after my original comment and I can only edit for 5 minutes.
This
Fred: please re-read the post that you were responding to. It PLAINLY states that JV is ONE OF THE GREATEST of his generation. Anyone with ANY baseball IQ would agree with that statement. No, I’m not a “homer”, I’m a Braves fan.
It’s nice to see there are decent human beings left in the world.
Thank you. I have never been referred to as a “decent human being” around these parts. In fact, i think that qualifies as the greatest compliment I have ever received here. Thank you, sir.
Maybe you’re not ready for multiple thoughts at a time but some of us are capable of both feeling sad for Verlander’s season AND making jokes about the Trashtros. They are not mutually exclusive.
Making jokes about someone and feeling sorry for them are 100% mutually exclusive. You cannot feel sympathy for someone and make fun of them at the same time.
Didn’t realize I was in the presence of a god capable of telling me what I feel and do not feel.
I wasn’t here to read what hiflew ORIGINALLY posted but when he says he didn’t edit it, I believe him. Why would a non-Astros fan refer to Verlander as the best of his generation? That’s a stretch for someone who IS an Astros fan.
Besides that, so what if someone edits a comment? That option is there for a reason. If you make yourself look like a jerk because you decided to jump all over someone’s case for a mistatment than maybe you should consider becoming a kinder human being.
It would be an interesting discussion, but it would also depend upon your parameters for a “generation.”
If you define generation as only players that debuted in or around the 2000s decade only, then Kershaw and Verlander are probably top 2 easily. I would argue Kershaw #1 and Verlander #2 and a collection of Zack Greinke, Felix Hernandez, and Johan Santana as the rest of the top 5, There are probably a couple of others (Sabathia, Halladay, Lee, Carpenter, Hudson) that would have a solid argument, but those are my top 5. But I could see an argument for either of the top 2 as the best from that decade.
If you define it with everyone that debuted in the 21st century, you’d have to add deGrom and Cole in, although I would argue that while the peak of the younger guys may be as high, they don’t have the career thus far that Kershaw/Verlander have had. So they MAY surpass them eventually, but for now I would keep the same top 2 in that group too.
Yea its Shaw -Ver- Max in the same breath and then a pack behind right now- Id prolly have Grienke Halladay 4/5 and sneak Waino in my top 10 just for respect for still doing it today! (or yesterday technically)
I think a decade from now it will be unanimous that Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher in the 21st century thus far
Holy freaking crap! The A’s just won the division
think again.
21 garbage can salute
Lmao!
Daaaaaang. Don’t nobody start feeling bad for the Astros now.
Don’t worry. I won’t
Greinke is basically back in the desert again.
Astros fans must be banging their heads right now
Keep these coming
This is the first of many pitchers having TJS there’s no way you can get ready for pitching in 3 weeks
What are you talking about? They had the initial spring training, then the shutdown. If pitchers weren’t doing their part to keep their arms in shape then shame on them. The MLBPA agreed to the 3 weeks so there must have been a belief pitchers would be ready. It’s not like he just picked up a baseball for the first time since last July
TJECK,109, pitching is all about routine and preparing for competitive action. It’s physically more difficult than our jobs.
You’re elbow isn’t like a tv that you can turn on and off
You think the players had a trainer with them like they would normally
Baseball spring training is long because players need to get used to stretching things out. All that standing around at your position. Then suddenly, you need to move quickly to make a difficult play. This is how muscles pull and guys wind up on the Injured List.
CeyHey you know exactly what I’m talking about you definitely need a good month to get ready to pitch
When they say elbow and out for season most likely it’s TJS I’m an angels fan and I’m use to it already
Agreed. Between the limited prep time and the decreased innings in a short season, MLB pitching is going to be a disaster between now and 2021. These guys’ routines have been completely thrown off.
Don’t be dumb. Most of these guys were doing throwing programs for a while. They didn’t just ramp up in 3 weeks.
That’s not the same as competitive action.
Cey hey, throwing 95 is throwing 95 whether it’s to a guy at the plate or to a guy holding a catcher’s mitt.
There’s no doubt that these guys should have been ready. There was talk of restarting the season for quite a while. It’s just an injury what are you going to do… guys get hurt during regular baseball seasons why not in this one. It’s unfortunate but it happens.
Call me dumb but everyone will see when there are more and more TJS
@Jose…. you’re dumb
Crazy that you know it’s a TJ.
Exactly. There was no reason for Verlander to go 6 innings in the opener. Yes, pitchers have been throwing since the shutdown, but it’s not the same as competitive pitching. Usually, Spring Training is 6 weeks, so this would be the early middle part. With the expanded rosters for the first 2-4 weeks , starters should only be going 3-4 innings at most in their initial starts. This was predicted by orthopedic surgeons before they started up again. In these unprecedented conditions, it is better to err on the side of caution
Wow what a shocker. Though I dislike the Astros, I feel for Justin Verlander and hope that he heals up well.
Since your favorite team likes to trade injured players(Kluber) how bout actually trading for one (Verlander)
So he’ll never be on a championship winning team. *2017
Just like David Price?
Wow. He’ll have to recuperate betwixt his wife’s tig ole bitties.
While you stroke and get your keyboard sticky.
At least he has his wife’s cheats to bang his head on
What, are you guys in 7th grade? Way to be classy and respectful. Come on man (all three of you)!
Literally the hottest wife on earth. Let us have fun dad
Don’t know anything about injury and hope not serious. Houston made a bonehead move picking up over $100 Million on 34 year old pitcher, but they lucked out with 2 plus excellent seasons. They also gave up some prospects who thus far do not seem great value..
He’s been worth 16 WAR so far in Houston alone, so no they actually made a GREAT move by trading for him. They also didn’t pick up over $100 million, they picked up only $44,375,000 of his contract. His contract was then renewed for 2 years and 66 million which looked like a GREAT deal at the time.
Of course the Astros have insurance on his contract also, so they will be just fine in that regard.
Thanks for correction. I now agree they made a great move in trading for him if they only committed to $44 Million. And, hen a bone headed more on the new/extended contract.
Did they need to agree to the extension in order for him to accept the trade? If so, then we are back to boneheaded but lucky on 2 plus great years.
The Astros won a World Series. The three prospects/suspects are still in the farm system of a terrible franchise. Verlander’s Astros contact has more than paid for itself.
The Astro hate in these comments is just vile. One of baseball’s best is out for the season and probably facing TJS and you’re dumping on his team. That’s just shameful.
I can’t stand the cheating that was done but this man’s hurt.
Beer-guzzling couch potatoes are jealous of pro athletes. Justin Verlander had accomplished more by age 23 than his critics will in their entire lives.
You feel the same way for Bonds and all of those steroid guys?
I am okay with all of them except Pete Rose.
But, how should we feel about the teammates of the PED guys? They benefited in ways similar to Verlander.. Is it different when the cheating is by the offense of one or two teams (that we know of) rather than spread out among hitters and pitchers on all teams like steroids? Do we discount the accomplishments of cheater or also those who benefited from cheating?
It’s not all Astro’s hate. Good look at the comment section for Kershaw’s injury article
*Go
Lazy sloths who are jealous of athletes.
Sorry saint terry. Oh wait this is the internet. If you don’t want to read comments about these dirty cheaters i am sure bible.coms comment section is much more mature
He’s not dead. He hurt his arm.
Who even knows how his career will finish. He’ll be 38 next season.
If it’s a UCL tear he will be out all of next season most likely also.
If it’s UCL tear he’s most likely done for ever
No way. There’s no way Verlander ends his career never pitching again after TJ.
He’s 37 you think he’ll come back at 39 years old to play one more season
I hope so. I really do. Trash cans please!
Yes. The guy obviously loves competing and he’s still a top ten pitcher. Why would he not come back for another or more seasons?
He’s currently at 226 career wins, still got a good shot at 250.
Is it trash can related?
Sayonara, Astros. No Cole, no Verlander, and no trash cans. You’re doomed
No service
Whoa…
Going to be a lot of whiny little losers around here when the Astros make a deep run with Lance McCullers and Zack Greinke.
A first class developmental organization is going to put on a clinic!
You mean the stro crime family
Sorry Greinke, McCullers, and JV when he’s healthy for the playoff stretch.
And Jose Urquidy is a solid #4 pitcher as well.
Relievers, yes. I’d say their developmental track record has failed in the development of SPs. It’s a pretty shaky track record, even Whitley’s development has been stymied. They’ll be ok if McCullers can stay healthy with Grienke and if Verlander can bounce back healthy, but that rotation is expensive and old. It could turn bad quickly on the other hand, with the question marks in the rotation. But development of SPs is not something they’ve experienced success with.
Is the rotation expensive and old? They only pay 2 guys. Wouldn’t say they have failed developing starters. They’ve traded most of their top SP prospects and went with vets in the rotation.
Cmon Whitley?
He’s far from a bust at this point. Maximizing what you get from veteran guys is still development. There’s no doubt that Justin Verlander and Gerit Cole developed further in Houston. Just because they chose to trade Velasquez, Appel, Musgrove etc. doesn’t mean that they haven’t been a phenomenal developmental organization.
It’s too early to call on a guy like Urquidy. But so far he looks like a hidden gem from the system. They’ve managed to get solid years from guys like Peacock and Mchugh who didn’t really have any success or serious pedigree before coming to Houston as well
I kept saying the Astros were not going to be as good (World Series good) this season with the scandal and being good for awhile. This cements that. It was going to happen sooner or later. He’s getting older and in this day and age success has its limitations.
Karma for the Astros! Sorry, but I am not going to feel bad for anything that happens to them.
Actually, Doug, the injury happened to a person, not a team. The team may feel the effects, but Verlander is a human.
Trying real hard not to be too excited!!!
Too late!!!
TJ potentially? Rough he’s old
Well,the Astros technology didn’t work this time
Can computer fix this problem
That when I said
Computer and body are different
Astro 2020 World Champions
I think the Astros should go with a bullpen day on Manday and use James and Valdez against the Dodgers.
They’ll need to call the Red Sox so Boston can deal from their pitching depth.
We have none
Hi my name is Forest Whitley, you may have heard of me.
For some unexplainable reason I seem to be overlooked and overshadowed. I am or thought I was the Astros top and best prospect. Yet there is no mention of me.
Ps. If you choose to respond to thoughts on this and the conversation has anything to do with service time then don’t bother wasting either of our time.
That 7.99 era last season in four stops doesn’t really help his case.
The Astros would have another year of control on Whitley next time Verlander would be due a turn in the rotation.
Anyone who has actually been following Whitley’s career knows that he has yet to show he’s ready to pitch in the majors. But armchair GM’s always know more than the actual ones, don’t they?
Id have forearm strains and carpal tunnel on both hands if i hade kate upton in my bed every night
You have forearm strains and carpal tunnel in both hands thinking of Kate Upton in your bed every night?
I’m straining my forearm right now thinking about it.
I said if I had , not thinking of
What a shame couldn’t happen to a better mor upstanding team.
Maybe the Astros can acquire Cory Kluber from the Rangers? hockeyjohn said he is now available via trade
As a phillies fan, I really don’t care about the astros cheating. Every team would have done the same if they had gotten away with it. It’s just annoying hearing people talking about it still. Especially Dodgers fans, they lost 2 games at home, it’s their fault they lost the world series. The one team that has a valid complaint is the 2017 yankees, they lost all 4 alcs games in minute made, and killed them in 3 games in yankees stadium.
Hopefully it’s a minor issue and he can get back at it. Don’t want to see anyone’s career end like this, especially such a successful one.
KARMA strikes the Asstro cheaters
He’s too rich to worry about anything. He comes back, fine. He doesn’t, fine ! He cheated, fine. He didn’t cheat, fine. Ho hum, a few million more in the bank, on a short season, ho him life goes on.
The ‘stros are gonna be fine. I saw a shipment labeled “emergency trashcans” headed into Houston just this morning.
Houston’s hoping to rest that elbow and hope it will be enough. If he has to have TJ surgery, he’s gone until 2022 and he’ll be 39 by then. All that money on that extension they signed him to just drained away.
Astro’s have been dodging impactful injuries for quite some time but the realities have come home, welcome to MLB..