Tigers activate Justin Verlander for final start

Verlander brought one of the most storied pitching careers in recent memory to a close with his final appearance at Comerica Park, throwing 91 pitches before leaving the mound alongside his daughter Genevieve to a standing ovation in the sixth inning. How can you not be romantic about baseball? He carried a shutout into the fourth before serving up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe. He surrendered another solo shot to Jacob Gonzalez in the ensuing frame but otherwise kept Pittsburgh off the scoreboard. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer concludes a 21-year run in the big leagues as a two-time World Series champion, three-time Cy Young Award winner, 10-time All-Star and 2011 AL MVP. He finishes eighth on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 3,560 punchouts to go along with a sparkling 3.33 ERA across 3,576 2/3 innings over 557 starts since 2005. Next stop, Cooperstown.

Verlander’s final major league start will be his first action since making a second rehab start for Triple-A Toledo in June. He’ll be facing the Pirates on Saturday after missing most of the year with hip and hamstring injuries.

Verlander is attempting to make it back for the final start of his Hall of Fame career at Comerica Park against the Pirates next weekend. The 43-year-old icon is scheduled to throw another bullpen session early next week to determine whether he’s ready to take the ball one final time before hanging up his spikes. He’s been out with hip and hamstring issues since early April.

It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that this bullpen session, in addition to an upcoming minor league rehab start, will go a long way towards determining whether Verlander makes one last start for Detroit before officially hanging up his spikes at the end of the season. The 43-year-old future Hall of Fame starter has been on the shelf with hip and hamstring issues since early April.

At least, that’s how Hinch described Verlander’s words. Verlander, who in July announced he’d retire at the end of the season, might make it back for a cameo appearance next month. He’s been on the injured list since Apr. 4 with hip and hamstring injuries.

The Tigers are holding out hope that Verlander will be able to pitch before the end of the regular season, but the fact that he’s hasn’t progressed to throwing bullpen sessions means that he isn’t remotely close. He’s been shut down with a hamstring strain since mid-June. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer is set to retire at season’s end and would undoubtedly relish the opportunity to take the mound in Detroit one last time before hanging up his spikes.

In a social media post, Verlander, who was given a legacy spot in this year’s All-Star game, said that he always wanted “the game to tell [him] when it was time” to retire and “over the least several months, [he] realized that the time has come. Verlander has pitched just 3 2/3 innings this season while dealing with hip and hamstring issues. The 43-year-old currently has a 3.33 career ERA and 266 wins in 556 MLB starts. He will look to add to those numbers down the stretch for the Tigers this season before calling it a career.

First it was going to be Saturday, then it was going to be Sunday, and now it’s not going to happen at all. Verlander remains on the 60-day injured list, but the 43-year-old is finding it hard to get healthy enough to get back on the mound and this latest setback will likely put him out for a few more weeks. The Tigers will likely have Keider Montero start Sunday’s game.

Verlander will make his return to Detroit’s rotation after missing 11 weeks due to a hip issue. It’ll be Keider Montero moving to the bullpen to make room. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer threw a 66-pitch simulated game at Daikin Park on Monday and shouldn’t have any workload restrictions in his return from the injured list. It’ll be his first start at Comerica Park in a Tigers uniform since 2017.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press speculates that Verlander is healthy but the Tigers don’t seem to think he’s ready to pitch in the majors from a performance standpoint, which is why he didn’t take the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Astros. There’s a chance the club decides he’s ready later this week, especially since Troy Melton is now dealing with a back issue that throws his availability into question.