Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander will be activated from the injured list and will make his season debut against the Washington Nationals on Friday.
“It’s extremely important to get him back because it gives confidence to our team, a confidence boost that we’re going to get someone who has been an MVP, a Cy Young. [winner] on the mound,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “That’s true [good] for morale and to get things going and moving in the right direction.”
The 41-year-old Verlander has not pitched for the Astros this season due to inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehab starts in the past 10 days for Triple-A Sugar Land and Double-A Corpus Christi, posting nine strikeouts, two walks and 11 earned runs in seven innings.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner wasn’t happy with the results, but was happy to come out of his two minor league starts healthy.
“The first thing is health and I came out feeling good,” he said. “Obviously I have some things to work on pitching-wise, but that’s really what Spring Training is for and what rehab starts are for. I felt better last time than I did then [rehab start] before, so just keep building on that, and like I always do, work on things in the bullpen in between and keep trying to make it click.
Espada did not say what kind of pitch count Verlander will be at, but his workload will be monitored.
“We have to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he wants to stay there and give us a chance to win, but we have to be careful how hard we push him early in the season.”
Verlander’s return comes at a time when the Astros are without Framber Valdez and José Urquidy, both of whom are on the injured list. Houston is last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.
Last season, Verlander went 7-3 with a 63:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 68 innings with the Astros and New York Mets.
As part of the two-year deal he signed with the Mets in 2022, Verlander’s contract includes a vesting option for 2025 that will be activated if he pitches 140 innings this season. If that happens, the Mets will pay half of his $35 million salary.
