2020 is a year that can’t end soon enough, and Justin Verlander is having a rough one. His year went from bad to worse when he announced on Saturday that he’d undergo Tommy John surgery.
Going back to spring training, Verlander suffered a groin injury in late February that required surgery. That injury didn’t cause him to miss any time in the regular season due to the COVID-19 shutdown, and it looked like Verlander dodged a bullet when he showed up with a clean bill of health at Summer Camp.
Unfortunately, Verlander lasted only one start, suffering a strained right forearm in his first start. He’s attempted to rehab the injury and threw a 75-pitch simulated game on Wednesday, but the aftermath of that outing apparently wasn’t good.
With the usual Tommy John surgery recovery timetable of 12-18 months, it seems unlikely that Verlander will pitch for the Astros in 2021, the final year of his contract. From there, it’s anyone’s guess as to Verlander’s baseball future, as he will be 39 by the time the 2022 season rolls around.
Returning from such a major injury at Verlander’s age isn’t unprecedented, but multiple injuries in one year certainly isn’t a great sign. That said, as much success as Verlander has had during his 16-year career, we certainly shouldn’t count the two-time Cy Young winner and 2011 AL MVP out.
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