Justin Verlander

Just a few hours before the Mets' Opening Day matchup with the Miami Marlins, the club announced that starting pitcher Justin Verlander will begin the ...

MIAMI -- A little less than 24 hours before the start of the 2023 season, Mets general manager Billy Eppler sat in the visiting dugout at loanDepot park and ...

“We had a lot of bumps along the way last year,” Showalter said. Further rotation plans, including the use of a sixth starter later in April, will depend upon the length of Verlander’s absence. As one of the game’s best pitchers throughout his late 30s, Verlander defied age with both his health and performance. That assignment will instead go to Megill -- the team’s 2022 Opening Day starter by similar default -- because manager Buck Showalter does not want to upset the routines of other pitchers. Shortly before Scherzer took the mound on Thursday for Opening Day in Miami, the team placed Verlander on the injured list due to a low-grade muscle strain on the right side of his body. Afterward, Verlander shrugged off the issue contributing it to some mechanical tweaks that had affected his performance. “Not the way I wanted my Mets tenure to start, that’s for sure.” In my mind, it was to be prudent here, be smart and get it looked at. It was only afterward that he began considering a potential connection between his velocity loss and a bit of mild discomfort underneath his right armpit. Consider it another hit for a pitching staff that had already lost Edwin Díaz (right knee surgery), José Quintana (left rib surgery), Bryce Montes de Oca (Tommy John surgery), Sam Coonrod (right lat strain) and Elieser Hernández (right shoulder strain) to March injuries. Mets doctors will re-evaluate Verlander in a week, at which point the club hopes to have a clearer idea of his timeline. When deGrom left via free agency, the Mets recreated the model with Scherzer and [Justin Verlander](https://www.mlb.com/player/434378).

Mets ace Justin Verlander was placed on the injured list with a low grade teres major strain, the team announced.

Astros, Braves among top candidates](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/which-team-has-mlbs-best-lineup-astros-braves-among-top-candidates) [MLB 26-and-under power rankings: Which teams have the best young players?](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlb-26-and-under-power-rankings-which-clubs-have-the-best-young-players) [2023 MLB odds: Best win total, division bets, long-shot, title futures, expert picks](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlb-odds-best-win-total-division-bets-title-futures) ](https://twitter.com/SNYtv/status/1641500260143906817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1641500260143906817%7Ctwgr%5Eabf72358b2e993c5f7e0ae646eea24a8884525a5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fmets-place-justin-verlander-on-il-with-low-grade-shoulder-strain-180140183.html) [Max Scherzer](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/max-scherzer-player) atop the team’s pitching rotation. [Justin Verlander](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/justin-verlander-player) has been placed on the 15-day injured list (IL) with a low grade teres major strain, [the team announced Thursday](https://twitter.com/Mets/status/1641496635778777088), sidelining the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner before his first appearance with the organization. ET](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/new-york-mets-vs-miami-marlins-mar-30-2023-game-boxscore-85224)) with Scherzer on the mound. - Mattress Mack bets big again on Houston Astros to win MLB World SeriesMLB 26-and-under power rankings: Which clubs have the best young players?MLB odds: Win totals growing more popular with bettors, sharp bets [Edwin Díaz](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/edwin-diaz-2-player), who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating [Puerto Rico](https://www.foxsports.com/world-baseball-classic/puerto-rico-team)'s [World Baseball Classic](https://www.foxsports.com/world-baseball-classic) victory over the [Dominican Republic](https://www.foxsports.com/world-baseball-classic/dominican-republic-team). [Miami Marlins](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/miami-marlins-team) on Thursday ( [1:10 p.m. [Houston Astros](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/houston-astros-team) win the World Series with an 18-4 record and 1.75 ERA. [2023 MLB Opening Day Live Updates: Aaron Judge goes yard](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/2023-mlb-opening-day-live-updates) [MLB season preview: Staff predictions on MVP, Cy Young, ROY, World Series](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlb-season-preview-staff-predictions-on-mvp-cy-young-roy-world-series) [MLB season preview: One burning question for all 30 teams](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlb-season-preview-one-burning-question-for-all-30-teams) [As Yankees face Giants on Opening Day, all eyes are on Aaron Judge](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/as-yankees-face-giants-on-opening-day-all-eyes-are-on-aaron-judge) [Padres' Austin Nola again carves out unlikely role: 'This is where he belongs'](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/padres-austin-nola-again-carves-out-unlikely-role-this-is-where-he-belongs) [Breakouts and breakthroughs: 10 former MLB top prospects ready to make a leap](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/breakouts-and-breakthroughs-10-former-mlb-top-prospects-ready-to-make-a-leap) [8 most interesting MLB players to watch ahead of 2023 season](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/8-most-interesting-mlb-players-to-watch-ahead-of-2023-season) [Ranking MLB's best 26-and-under pitchers](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/ranking-mlbs-best-26-and-under-pitchers) [Ranking MLB's best 26-and-under position players](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlbs-best-26-and-under-position-players) [Which team has MLB's best lineup? [Opening Day](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb) already isn't going quite as planned for the [New York Mets](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/new-york-mets-team). - 2023 MLB odds: World Series futures lines for every teamShohei Ohtani tops Forbes' list of MLB's highest-paid playersBen Verlander's preseason MLB top-10 power rankings

The Mets season started in disaster on Opening day, and first pitch is still hours away.

“It’s not the way I wanted my Mets tenure to start, that is for sure,” Verlander said. “But I would think this is probably the second-best case. “It’s not a best-case scenario — best case is there is nothing there and you are just sore,” Verlander said. Verlander said it’s tough to begin the season on the IL, but in the big picture he would rather be sidelined now than later in the year. We are athletes and unfortunately when you are working at a high level of intensity, stuff like this does come along. The Mets signed Verlander to a two-year contract worth $86.7 million in the offseason to

The Mets' Justin Verlander will start the 2023 season on the injured list with a low grade teres major strain.

"We had a lot of bumps along the road last year. "As a pitcher, that sometimes is the longest part of a comeback from an injury. Playoffs, I’m definitely pitching, but it being the beginning of the season, coming off of spring training, it just makes too much sense to not push it right now" "And then in the bullpen when it wasn’t quite was when I knew that I should probably use discretion." We did it last year, overcame a lot of that stuff and whether it’s the first part of the season or later on, I don’t think it’s a real hot topic right now in our locker room." "Not the way I wanted my Mets tenure to start, that’s for sure," Verlander said.

The Mets are placing co-ace Justin Verlander on the injured list because of a low-grade teres major strain, the team announced Thursday.

The righty previously missed the entire 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery before putting together one of the best seasons of his career in 2022, finishing 18-4 and posting a 1.75 ERA in 175 innings for the "This isn't best-case scenario," Verlander told the media in Miami. The injury popped up following a bullpen session Wednesday after Verlander's velocity fell in his final spring training start.

The New York Mets right hander was scheduled to start in Miami on Saturday night before suffering a low-grade muscle strain during a bullpen session.

However, the injury to Verlander's teres muscle, which connects the scapula to the upper arm, flared up during a bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon. The right-hander was originally scheduled to start his season on the road Saturday against the Miami Marlins.