Help is on the way.
Justin Verlander is returning to the mound Friday for a rehab start from the teres major strain he suffered in spring training and plans to join the Mets’ rotation shortly thereafter. The three-time Cy Young Award winner said he feels “99 percent” healthy and is ready to join the Amazin’s.
“Throwing feels absolutely wonderful. All positive signs,” Verlander said Tuesday at Citi Field. “I want to be back out there competing. 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 than we thought initially. But no point crying over spilled milk, so here we are.”
Verlander was continuing to throw throughout his injury speeding up the timeline for his build-up. The right-hander tossed a simulated game on Sunday in Port St. Lucie combined with favorable MRI results that kicked his return into high gear.
“He went out there and got after a couple of pitchers toward the end, he felt good,” skipper Buck Showalter said Sunday. “I have texted him back and forth multiple times and he is doing good, feeling good and anxious to get back.”
If all goes well in his rehab outing, the 40-year-old — who inked a two-year, $86 million contract this offseason after his 1.75 ERA in 28 starts earned him the 2022 AL Cy Young Award — would be on track to make his Mets’ debut against his former team the Detroit Tigers on May 3 at Comerica Park.
Showalter’s club for the most part has treaded water without Verlander at the top of their rotation owning a 14-10 record on the season. Their pitching depth has been tested throughout the early days of the season and the debut of their co-ace — along with Max Scherzer — comes at a crucial time.
David Peterson owns a 7.36 ERA in his 25.2 innings of work, Carlos Carrasco (8.56 ERA in three starts) is on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and Jose Quintana is out until at least the second half of the season due to rib surgery.
Scherzer (3.72 ERA in four starts) also missed two turns in the rotation due to his 10-game sticky stuff suspension and is eligible to return on May 1 as the Mets’ vision is coming closer to being reality sometime next week if all goes to plan. Scherzer and Verlander will once again be in the same rotation as they were in the early days of their careers with the Tigers.
After calling on depth pieces to take on major roles in the rotation, the Mets’ vision seems to be on track to come to fruition at some point next week with Scherzer and Verlander at the top.
“I’m really looking forward to playing with him again,” Verlander said of Scherzer in February. “We’re obviously in different situations in our lives now. I think we can both look back at our time in Detroit together. We had such an incredible team and unfortunately weren’t able to reach our goals. Hopefully, we can do it here.”
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