Justin Verlander leaves on the injured list

A few days ago, Justin Verlander said he did not feel ready for the start of the season. For what? Because of the control of his shots.

And now he was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder problem by the Mets on opening day.

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

Does the dial cause him to throw faster, allowing his body less to recover between throws? It is a possibility, yes.

He won’t be able to start Game #3 of the season, or even the home opener, in just over a week.

The opener, anyway, belongs to Max Scherzer.

Note that if the Mets were in a playoff race, Verlander would pitch. He’s not going to stop training completely, which proves that it’s really minor. It’s worrying though, though, because of his age.

Also added “I think the fact that I’m still going to be able to throw is showing how minor of an injury it is”

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) March 30, 2023

Remember that the Mets pay him $43.3 million a year after a season where he won the Cy Young on the Houston side.

So both New York teams have great starting pitchers on paper, but Verlander, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Frankie Montas and Luis Severino are all injured.

• 11 strikeouts for Gerrit Cole today. That makes him more than 600 in New York.

• Salvador Perez is the captain of the Royals.

Salvador Perez has been named Royals team captain.

Salvy joins George Brett, Frank White, and Mike Sweeney as the only team captains in club history. pic.twitter.com/UI2W53hbwL

—Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 30, 2023