Astros ace Justin Verlander announced on Instagram that he’ll need Tommy John Surgery after being on the shelf with an elbow injury since the beginning of the shortened season.
In the video, Verlander talks about “feeling something in my elbow” during a simulated game and that Tommy John Surgery was the best option going forward.
Via ESPN:
“I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Verlander said in the video. “And although 2020 has sucked, hopefully when this rehab process is all said and done, this will allow me to charge through the end of my career and be healthy as long as I want and pitch as long as I want and accomplish some of the goals that I want in my career.”
Aside from the obvious in terms of the significance of this announcement is that with Tommy John Surgery Verlander probably won’t be returning until 2022. Currently, he’s signed with the Astros through the 2021 season meaning there’s a good possibility he’s pitched his last game in Houston.
With that in mind, Mlive.com Tigers beat writer Evan Woodbery posed a very interesting notion on Twitter in the wake of JV’s announcement:
First of all, from nothing more than a fanboy standpoint, I’m all for this.
From a standpoint of an idea that just plain makes sense, I’m all for this.
Even in the late stages of his career, Verlander can still deal. The numbers are still good, with his WHIP still staying below 1.00 the past two seasons — which I won’t count this year since he only pitched one game. His FIP was a tiny bit elevated at 3.27 but that’s still not bad, especially for the American League.
Of course, all of this is assuming everything goes well with the Tommy John Surgery, the rehab associated, and he’s not seeking some ridiculous deal.
The timing should fit too.
By 2022, the Tigers could very well be competing for the division in which case by 2023 who knows? If everything is going well I don’t see why they couldn’t be a team talked about in terms of making a run in the postseason.
Obviously I’m looking at this in the lens of what I saw in 2006 when Kenny Rogers came to the Tigers to mentor a young Tigers pitching staff that included Justin Verlander. In 2022, maybe it’s JV coming in and mentoring a group of guys that consists of Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, helping win a World Series, and retiring as a Tiger.
I mean isn’t that how this is suppose to play out?