*Photo from CBS Sports*
Houston Astros RHP Justin Verlander has been shut down and will likely miss opening day due to a lat strain, according to GM James Click. An MRI revealed a mild lat strain, which is the same injury that caused Verlander to miss a chunk of time in 2015 as well. There is no timetable for his return to game action or even throwing. Verlander was removed from his start on Sunday after feeling soreness in his right arm.
Click said of Verlander that "It's a situation where we're going to reassess to see how he feels. We're going to no-throw for a bit and we'll see, you're always concerned with a guy like this, of his caliber, but at the same time, I think the news we got today is on the positive side." Verlander himself said that "I would say it would probably take a miracle for me to be back by Opening Day." Verlander left his start after two innings pitched when it was planned he would throw 4.
After losing Gerrit Cole to the New York Yankees, Verlander, Zack Greinke, and Lance McCullers were slated to be the top 3 in Houston's rotation, followed by some combination of Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, Josh James, and Austin Pruitt. Now, the back end of Houston's rotation will have some more question marks with Verlander sidelined for the foreseeable future. Verlander has been one of baseball's most durable pitchers in his career, throwing at least 200 innings in 12 seasons.
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