Justin Verlander’s nightmare season may end without pitching in the postseason.
The third-seeded Astros left the struggling righty off their wild-card roster before opening at home Tuesday against the sixth-seeded Tigers.
Verlander is a two-time World Series champion and an ALCS MVP, but posted a 5.48 ERA in an injury-shortened season spanning 17 starts.
The Astros did not discuss using him as a reliever for the best-of-three series, per The Athletic, but it’s possible he could return for one of the later rounds, should the Astros advance.
“It was a very easy conversation. Justin Verlander is a professional. He knows how well our starting pitchers have to perform throughout the season,” Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday before Game 1. “So when we had this conversation, he was all in. He’ll do what’s best for this team. So I appreciated his feedback and how he evaluated his season and his last few starts. True pro. He is a true pro.”
Verlander’s omission is more notable for who he is and for all he has done in a career that surely will land him in the Hall of Fame rather than his 2024 résumé.
The Astros only needed three starters for this series and Verlander has not been one of their best three starters this year, posting the worst ERA of his career aside from his two-start rookie season.
Verlander started the year on the injured list with shoulder inflammation before returning and then landed on the injured list on June 9 with a neck injury.
He then admitted in late September that he came back too fast from that neck injury, going 2-4 with an 8.10 ERA spanning seven starts after returning Aug. 21.
The schedule also worked against Verlander since he last pitched Saturday, which means he could not pitch on regular rest until Thursday. The veteran has not started on four days of rest since returning.
Houston instead is turning to Framber Valdez for Game 1 and has Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, Yusei Kikuchi and even Spencer Arrighetti all as potential starting options.
“I don’t want us to just disregard JV for the rest of the postseason, but the conversation moving into the wild card was pretty easy,” Espada said, according to The Athletic. “JV understood.”
Verlander seemed to have an understanding down the stretch that this may happen and it’s possible he’s pitched his final game for the Astros now that he’ll be a free agent after he didn’t meet the threshold for his option to be picked up.
“I was away for two months and all these guys were pitching fantastic. You’ve seen a bunch of guys really come into their own,” Verlander said after his Sept. 20 start against the Angels, per MLB.com. “I see the calendar, I know what time of year it is. That’s why I had to come back and try to find myself.
“There’s only one way to be successful in this game as a pitcher, and that’s to pitch against the best talent in the world. Sitting there trying to give myself time wasn’t possible. I needed to figure out where I was at. It’s been hard; it’s been a tough lesson, but I don’t regret it. I want to show up for these guys, I want to be there.”
