LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers have sent left-hander Tarik Skubal, right-hander Jack Flaherty and right-hander Casey Mize to the mound through the first six games of 2026 spring training, but the newest members of the five-man rotation remain on the backfields.
The in-game wait continues for left-hander Framber Valdez and right-hander Justin Verlander after both pitchers signed with the Tigers in early February as free agents.
They will be the final healthy starters to pitch in spring games, but they’re not behind schedule.
“We’re always paying attention to what their routines are … and where they want to enter games at, and where we want them to enter games at,” manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday, Feb. 25, before a spring game against the Toronto Blue Jays. “Part of it is scheduling and part of it is the layout on what we want them to accomplish. … [We are] accommodating to exactly where they are in their program.”
Valdez, 32, completed his first live batting practice Wednesday; Verlander, 43, completed his first live batting practice Monday, and is scheduled to throw his second live batting practice Saturday.
The Tigers haven’t revealed when Valdez and Verlander will pitch in games.
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If the next step is game action, Valdez would line up to start March 2 against the Atlanta Braves in Lakeland. Verlander would line up to start March 6 against the Boston Red Sox in Lakeland.
“We went back and saw what he’s done over the last five years, and he’s right on track with what he’s done every year,” Hinch said Tuesday of Valdez, who has averaged 192 innings over the past four seasons. “He will enter spring a little more built up because of the extra bullpens, which is good. We’ve got to get him ready for the season, but he’s right on track.”
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In Monday’s session, Verlander threw 21 pitches to John Peck, Hao-Yu Lee and Josue Briceño on the TigerTown backfields, with catcher Dillon Dingler working behind the plate.
It took him six minutes, 15 seconds to complete the session.
He wasn’t pleased with his performance.
“Is he ever happy with his work?” Hinch said.
Verlander struggled to locate pitches in the strike zone, often yanking them below the zone. There wasn’t much hard contact from the three hitters, in part because there weren’t many pitches worth swinging at.
He shouted four expletives along the way.
“He’s actually getting easier on himself if that’s all he did,” Hinch said.
“I thought it was good to see him take some of the work that he was doing in the bullpen and go to the mound,” Hinch added. “I told him, I thought he was trying to set a world record for pitchers per second. He was going so fast, but it’s kind of what he always does when he gets on the mound. We spent some time talking about it.”
Both Valdez and Verlander had success in 2025.
Valdez posted a 3.66 ERA with 68 walks (8.5% walk rate) and 187 strikeouts (23.3% strikeout rate) across 192 innings in 31 starts for the Houston Astros. Verlander registered a 3.85 ERA with 52 walks (7.9% walk rate) and 137 strikeouts (20.7% strikeout rate) across 152 innings in 29 starts for the San Francisco Giants.
Before long, the newcomers will make their spring training debuts for the Tigers as they continue preparing for the 2026 season.
“Established guys can often get more out of backfield work and bullpen – the build,” Hinch said, referencing Valdez and Verlander. “Others like Tarik and Jack are getting more out of the game. It’s just catering to their style.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why aren’t Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez pitching in spring games?
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
