Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander warms up during a team workout on Feb. 15. He will open the season on the injured list after dealing with right shoulder inflammation during the offseason. Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will open the season on the injured list after dealing with right shoulder inflammation during the offseason, which could jeopardize his conditional $35 million option for 2025.
Astros Manager Joe Espada said Tuesday the 41-year-old Verlander hasn’t suffered any setbacks but needs more time to become game ready.
Verlander hasn’t experienced any soreness in his shoulder after bullpen sessions, the manager said. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is expected to throw in the bullpen again on Friday but has yet to face hitters.
Verlander is expected to return early in the season. He called the injury “a little hiccup’’ in February but said he will be “really cautious on how I’m building up.’’
He is in the final year of a two-year contract that includes a $35 million conditional player option for 2025 that he can exercise if he has 140 more innings pitched this year and does not have a specified injury that would prevent him from being on the 2025 opening day active roster.
CARDINALS: St. Louis ace Sonny Gray could miss an Opening Day start because of a mild right hamstring strain sustained in his latest spring training outing.
Gray had been slated to start at the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28.
“If it’s in the cards for me to still do that, then obviously I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen,” Gray said Tuesday.
The three-time All-Star right-hander left his start Monday against Washington after 20 pitches. The Cardinals initially said Gray had tightness in his hamstring, and an MRI revealed the strain.
The Cardinals gave Gray a $75 million, three-year contract in November to anchor a revamped rotation. Gray is coming off one of the best seasons of his 11-year major league career, going 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA for Minnesota while finishing second in the AL Cy Young voting.
BRAVES: National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to be ready for Opening Day after a more thorough examination of his sore right knee found no serious issues.
Acuña left the Braves’ spring training site in Florida to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Monday night.
The team announced Tuesday that ElAttrache found only irritation in the meniscus of his right knee. Acuña will be able to gradually increase his baseball activities and is expected to be cleared to play by the time the Braves open the regular season at Philadelphia on March 28.
Acuña tweaked his knee on Thursday while he was in a rundown between second and third base during an exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins. There were no immediate issues; he remained in the game for two more innings before exiting with many of the regular starters.
Acuña took batting practice the following day, but the team decided to take no chances when pain persisted in the same knee that sustained a season-ending injury in 2021.
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