Justin Verlander Injury Update: 3x Cy Young winner could make season debut for Astros on Friday against Nationals

One of the greatest pitchers of all time, Justin Verlander, is finally on track to return to the Houston Astros rotation. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is slated to make his 2024 regular season debut this coming Friday against the Washington Nationals. Although there may be some inning limitations, a matchup against the Nationals is one of the top matchups to debut against.

Justin Verlander has yet to pitch an inning for the Houston Astros this season after opening the season on the injured list. The 41-year-old starting pitcher has been out of action since the beginning of Spring Training after suffering from shoulder inflammation.

"According to Astros Manager Joe Espada, Justin Verlander could make his season debut on Friday." - @SICscore

Verlander has been building himself back to strength with the Houston Astros minor league club at Double-A Corpus Cristi. His latest rehab outing came this past Saturday with the nine-time All-Star ramping up to a total of 77 pitches.

According to Astros manager Joe Espada, if the future Hall of Famer feels fine throughout the week, he could be activated from the IL to face the Washington Nationals on Friday.

It remains to be seen if the icon can bounce back to his top-tier form, although he remained a solid starter for the Houston Astros last season. Following his high-profile trade from the New York Mets to the Astros last summer, Verlander pitched 68.0 innings, posting a 7-3 record with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

Justin Verlander's return will be crucial for the Astros, as injuries have ravaged the team

Although adding Justin Verlander to any pitching staff is always an exciting update, the fact that the Houston Astros' rotation has been decimated makes his return even more important. The 2022 World Series champions have a number of their top pitchers sitting on the IL with a variety of injuries, which makes Verlander's pending return massive.

"The guys on the Astros injured list right now my goodness" - @CodifyBaseball

Currently, the Houston Astros are without the likes of Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr. That group alone can be the difference between a postseason appearance or not, however adding Verlander to that list helps explain why the Astros own a 6-11 record.