The Houston Astros placed Justin Verlander on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a neck problem in another blow to Houston’s limping rotation.
The move also jeopardizes Verlander’s contract status for 2025. Verlander has a $35 million player option through 2025, which will only vest if he pitches 140 or more innings this season.
Verlander has pitched 57 innings so far and the 33-39 Astros have played 44.4% of their regular season schedule, already falling behind in reaching the 140-inning threshold. He started the season on the IL and made his season debut three weeks into the season on April 19.
Verlander, 41, could still reach 140 innings. But he would have to return from his IL stint soon and remain healthy and available for most of the remainder of the season to have a reasonable chance at another 83 innings.
If he doesn’t meet the threshold, he will become a free agent this offseason. A three-time Cy Young winner, Verlander has a 3.95 ERA and 1.211 WHIP with 51 strikeouts and 17 walks in 2024.
According to The Athletic, Verlander said he had been dealing with neck pain for “a few weeks” and initially tried to play through it. The Astros scratched him from Saturday’s start against the Detroit Tigers before placing him on the IL on Tuesday ahead of a scheduled start against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
It is not clear how long he will be sidelined. The IL stint is retroactive to June 16, meaning he will be eligible to return to the active roster on June 30. An already thin Astros rotation could use him as soon as he’s ready. The Astros drafted right-hander Nick Hernandez from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move.
Astros starters Cristian Javier and José Urquidy both underwent season-ending elbow surgery. Starter Lance McCullers Jr. hasn’t pitched since undergoing surgery last June to remove bone spurs and repair the flexor tendon in his throwing arm. He hopes to pitch this season, but it is not yet clear when he can return.
The Astros, meanwhile, are nine games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West and are in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 2016.
