Verlander laughs off retirement rumors, plans to pitch for 'long time'

Justin Verlander has no intentions of retiring anytime soon.

The injured Houston Astros right-hander scheduled a surprise Zoom call with reporters on Friday, which immediately led to online speculation about the 38-year-old hanging up his cleats for good.

Lol…. Man y’all are crazy. I’m not retiring! 🤣🤣. I was asked to do a zoom call to give updates to the media. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Sooooo here’s the update. I’m feeling awesome and plan on still pitching for a long time.
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) May 7, 2021

Though Verlander said he "absolutely" wants to pitch this season, he acknowledged it's not guaranteed.

"There's a lot of things that have to go perfect from now until then for that to even be a discussion," Verlander said, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

He also said he won't be able to return as a starter even if he's able to pitch before the end of the campaign.

The two-time Cy Young winner is throwing again after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, but he's limited to throwing only fastballs.

Verlander said he's only been throwing fastballs, no off-speed pitches yet, but he's really pleased with how it looks. He thinks his mechanics might change as his body recovers, but it will probably be for the best.
— Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) May 7, 2021