Houston Astros ace pitcher Justin Verlander will start the season on the injured list, the team announced Tuesday.
Verlander said three weeks ago that he was dealing with a shoulder issue that he referred to as a “hiccup.”
Although Verlander has not experienced any setbacks, Astros manager Joe Espada said the three-time Cy Young Award winner needs more time in his buildup to the regular season.
“He’s doing well, but we’re running out of days and won’t be able to build him up to start the regular season,” Espada told reporters, according to MLB.com.
Verlander, 41, said last month that he was starting spring training “a couple of weeks behind” his normal routine and acknowledged at the time that he would be on a “tight timeline” to be ready for the Astros’ season opener against the New York Yankees on March 28.
Verlander missed the first five weeks of last season after suffering a muscle strain near his pitching shoulder in late March. The nine-time All-Star pitched just 162⅓ innings last season, the lowest total in his 18-year career outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, but he went 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA in 27 combined starts with the Astros and New York Mets.
