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New York Mets pitcher Justin Verlander, signed by the team this offseason, will reportedly make his first start of the season on May 3 against the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers are the team that Verlander broke into the majors with in 2005. Verlander was slated to start the Mets' home opener on April 6, but he was placed in the injured list due to what was termed a "low grade teres major strain" just before opening day.
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Long before he was signed by the New York Mets, Justin Verlander was establishing his future Hall of Fame credentials with the Tigers. He won the first of his three Cy Young Awards with Detroit in 2011.
Verlander was signed to an $86.7 million, two-year deal by the Mets to replace departed star Jacob deGrom. The move reunited Verlander with Max Scherzer, a former Tigers teammate, atop the New York staff.
The 39-year-old Verlander was a unanimous choice for the 2022 American League Cy Young Award. He had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP while topping the AL with 18 wins to help the Astros to the MLB championship.
Verlander had pitched for the Astros since a deadline day deal on Aug. 31, 2017, sending three prospects to the Tigers for the ace hurler. He spent his entire career with Detroit up to that point, debuting for the Tigers in 2005 after being selected No. 2 in the 2004 draft.
He underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing arm in September 2020. He pitched one game that season before the surgery, then sat out the entirety of the 2021 season to recover from the procedure before making a tremendous comeback in 2022.
The news was not appreciated by all New York Mets fans, some of whom had tickets for other games that week.
New York Mets counting on Justin Verlander
Heading into his 18th season, Justin Verlander has put up a career of numbers that will almost certainly have him inducted into the Hall of Fame when his playing days are over. In 17 seasons, he has a 244-133 record, 3.24 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 3,198 strikeouts in 482 starts. He is a three-time Cy Young Award winner with two World Series championships to his name.
