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New York Mets right-hander Justin Verlander told reporters Friday that he “turned a corner” in his continued recovery from a teres major muscle strain sustained during spring training and that participation in the rotation in the month of April was a “very reasonable” possibility.
Verlander suffered the injury late in spring training and was placed on the injured list just hours before the start of the regular season. The strain is classified as “low grade”, so such a rapid return was always a possibility and consistent with the general timeline for such injuries.
The Mets signed Verlander to a two-year, $86.67 million contract this past offseason to essentially replace outgoing ace Jacob deGrom, who signed with the Rangers. Verlander won his third career Cy Young award with the World Champion Astros last season. Going into his 40-year season, he has just six wins under 250 in his career.
For the Mets, 3-4 in Friday’s home opener against the Marlins, Verlander’s debut can’t come soon enough. Co-ace Max Scherzer struggled in his first two starts of 2023 (6.35 ERA and an NL-leading four home runs allowed), and veteran southpaw José Quintana is out until at least July after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in the repair the ribcage and remove a benign lesion.
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