Justin Verlander, GB France is behind schedule due to shoulder problems

Astros right-hander Justin Verlander He is a few weeks behind the regular spring training schedule due to a shoulder issue. He spoke to members of the media about it today, with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reporting Video on X A veteran discusses the situation. General Manager Dana Brown also conveyed this right GB France He's dealing with shoulder inflammation, though Brown isn't particularly concerned because both pitchers play catch. “If they were closed, it would be even more concerning,” Brown said. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

“I'm a little behind schedule right now, and I had a little problem early on that sort of resolved itself, but I have to be really careful with how I build,” Verlander said. “I think my body doesn't respond the same way at 40 as it does at 25. So, you know, I'm a few weeks behind schedule.” When asked to elaborate on the hiccups, he continued: “When I first started catching, I usually shut it down for a while. This time, when I closed it down and caught the ball again, my shoulder didn't feel very good, so I had to take a step back and “I'm really diligent in building my offense. When asked about opening day, he said it will depend on how things go in the next few weeks.”

The concern appears to be fairly minor at this point, although it's not ideal for the club to have two members of the rotation mix already dealing with issues quite by the time camp opens. The Astros are already set to open the season with Lance McCullers Jr And Luis Garcia is on the injured list, as both pitchers underwent major surgeries last year. Both of those guys are on track to come back in the second half, Brown told MLB Network Radio earlier this week John Morosi of MLB.com.

Without McCullers or Garcia, the mix in Houston's rotation is expected to be Verlander, Framber Valdez, Christian Javier And Hunter BrownWith only one place available for someone like France, Jose Urquidi or Brandon Belak. If Verlander and/or France end up requiring time on the injured list to start the year, everyone will be moved up a notch or two on the chart.

Verlander, who turns 41 next week, also suffered a shoulder issue last spring while with the Mets. At the end of March, he was placed on the IL due to a major strain and did not make his season debut until May. He was eventually able to make a 27-start year between the Mets and Astros after a midseason trade, but with dwindling stuff from his 2022 Cy Young-winning year. His ERA went from 1.75 to 3.22 and his strikeout rate dropped from 27.8% to 21.5% with all of his pitches also declining slightly. He seemed to get better as the season went on, with a 3.60 ERA and 19.7% strikeout rate in the first half compared to a 2.92 ERA and 23% strikeout rate in the second half.

France, 29, pitched 136 1/3 innings last year with a 3.83 ERA, a 17.4% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate, and a 42.8% groundball rate. He's clearly less important in the club's rotation than Verlander, and he's not even guaranteed a roster spot since he has options. But every club has to deal with and dig into injuries at some point during the year. He would have been a candidate for the step-up if Verlander needed to waste time, but that could be in jeopardy if France themselves fall behind.

Brown has often stated that he is always looking to add promotion and made similar comments today video Translated by McTaggart. “I'm always working on trying to add depth to a rookie. I think a season, like I said before, is 162 games. If you get into a situation where you can trade for a rookie or if you can sign a rookie, I think you should do it if that's Makes sense in terms of budget and all that. But at the end of the day, I'm always in the market for pitching. I've said that since day one. I don't think you can ever get enough pitching in 162 games.

The Astros are in unprecedented territory in terms of their payroll. for every Cradle Baseball ContractsThe highest opening day payroll was $188 million in 2021. List resources It pegs them at $240 million for the year and also has a competitive balance tax number of $255 million. They've never paid the tax before, because the only time they went through it was in 2020, when the short-season payments were waived. This year's streak is $237 million, so it's already gone.

If the club decides it needs reinforcements, there are still plenty of names available in free agency. This includes prominent men such as Blake Snell And Jordan Montgomery But also more affordable names such as Michael Lorenzen, Hyun Jin Ryu And much more. Given the club's salaries and the minor nature of the injuries, it doesn't seem likely that the club would suddenly come out and brag, but it will be a situation worth monitoring if another player suffers an injury or Verlander suffers a setback. France. Although the Browns have maintained that they are always looking for starting depth, they have not signed any veteran players to minor league deals, so perhaps they could look to add some non-roster players in the coming days.