Something has to change.
If not, Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander will be forced to contemplate retirement in the near future as he struggles to stay healthy with back-to-back injuries over the the first three months of the 2026 season.
The latest setback: The Tigers scratched Verlander from his start Sunday, June 21, against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park with a left hamstring strain – just as he was preparing to return from left hip inflammation.
“I’ve always said that I want to play until the wheels fall off,” Verlander said before Friday’s opener of a three-game series against the White Sox. “Maybe they are falling off. I hope not. … If I can’t be healthy, and I continue to prove that I can’t be healthy, that’s something that I have to really evaluate.”
For now, Verlander isn’t thinking about retirement.
The 43-year-old is focused on helping the Tigers, but first, he must recover from another injury. This time, the Tigers expect Verlander to be sidelined for several weeks.
“There’s no giving up,” Verlander said. “This is halfway through a season that I committed to the Tigers. Nobody envisioned it going this way, but I also intend on trying to give it my everything until the season is over. Once that happens, I don’t know. It’s a different conversation now than it was last year when I seemed to be really healthy. There are a lot of thoughts I’m going to have to take into consideration.”
The Tigers signed Verlander to a one-year, $13 million contract in early February, reuniting after he previously pitched for the Tigers from 2005-17.
Since then, Verlander has made just one regular-season start.
The lone appearance occurred March 30, when he surrendered five runs across 3⅔ innings in an 80-pitch performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened to me, where it’s consecutive injuries,” said Verlander, who completed three simulated games and two rehab starts while on the injured list. “This whole process has been agonizingly long for me, especially considering where we were early on in thinking it was going to be a short-term injury. It’s disappointing to say the least.”
Verlander – sidelined on the injured list since April 1 – hasn’t pitched for the Tigers at Comerica Park since Aug. 20, 2017, before the Tigers traded him to the Houston Astros.
The nearly nine-year drought would’ve ended when Verlander took the mound for Sunday’s game, but instead, everyone has to wait through another left leg injury.
There isn’t a timetable for his return.
But Verlander might not be ready until after the All-Star break, which takes place from July 13-15.
“This happened. I have to deal with it, just like everything else,” said Verlander, a 21-year MLB veteran who is all but guaranteed to be elected into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. “Things don’t always go the way you envisioned. Hopefully, I get this under my belt and move past it and easy sailing to the end of the season.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Justin Verlander opens up after setback: ‘Maybe wheels are falling off’
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
