Mets Star Justin Verlander Hits IL

Mets Star Justin Verlander Hits IL With Muscle Strain

One of the two New York Mets aces Justin Verlander has been placed on the IL. He has a low-grade strained teres major, a shoulder muscle that helps connect the scapula to the upper arm.

Verlander, 40, expressed that this IL stint won’t be a major one. The Mets’ team Twitter announced that Verlander will continue to throw throughout his IL stint and that the team will rescan the muscle in a week. Neither the team nor Verlander knows how long this injury will keep him out of the action.

Justin Verlander will be placed on the IL with a low grade teres major strain. He will continue throwing at moderate intensity and we will rescan in a week. We will provide an update at that time.

— New York Mets (@Mets) March 30, 2023

“This isn’t best-case scenario,” Verlander said to the media in Miami prior to the Mets’ Opening Day against the Marlins.

“But I would think this is probably second-best case. Very minimal.”

Verlander was slated to pitch against the Marlins on Saturday, and that now is obviously out of the picture. He was also scheduled to pitch in the Mets’ home opener against Miami. Right-hander Tylor Megill will be called up from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Verlander’s spot in the rotation.

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Probably Not Too Serious

From my perspective, it doesn’t seem as if this injury is something that will haunt the Mets or Verlander for very long. Verlander added that this type of injury would be something he pitches through if the circumstances were different. While these games are important, the Mets are not going to rush Verlander to come back for March and April baseball.

The Mets signed Verlander to a massive, two-year, $86.67 million contract this offseason. Essentially, Verlander was brought in to replace Jacob deGrom, as a second ace to complement Max Scherzer.

Two of Steve Cohen’s signees this past offseason have now hit the injured list, although Verlander’s injury isn’t nearly as serious as Edwin Diaz’s.

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