Mets' Verlander heading to IL with teres major strain
New York Mets right-hander Justin Verlander will be placed on the injured list with a low grade teres major strain, the club announced Thursday.
Verlander will continue throwing at moderate intensity and undergo another scan in one week.
The teres major is a small muscle that runs along the border of the scapula.
The Mets signed the reigning American League Cy Young winner to a two-year, $86.7-million contract in December. Verlander was expected to make his regular-season debut in the Mets' game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
The nine-time All-Star joins left-hander Jose Quintana as the latest Mets starting pitcher to be placed on the injured list.
Right-hander Tylor Megill is expected to take the ball in Verlander's absence in Miami, according to the New York Post's Mike Puma.
Verlander said he initially thought he'd injured his lat and was relieved to learn that wasn't the case, according to SNY's Andy Martino.
Verlander describes the injury as “very minimal.” Says other than no injury at all, it was about as good an outcome as possible to the testing. pic.twitter.com/6nDhAoVyR0
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) March 30, 2023
"It feels like crap," Verlander said of missing the beginning of the season, according to Newsday's Tim Healey. "Not the way I wanted my Mets tenure to start, that's for sure. I put in a ton of work to not have things like this happen."