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DETROIT – How does this sound? Justin Verlander, taking the mound on Sept. 26 in a farewell outing during a weekend when the Detroit Tigers are honoring his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
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Pretty special and it is trending toward being a reality.
“I’m cautious to throw it out there too firmly,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Because a lot of things can happen between now and then and we’ve seen that. He’s really battling and he’s going to pitch through whatever, but we can’t have any setbacks of any sort. I don’t want to make any false promises.”
Verlander, who has been on the injured list since April 1, already has announced that he will retire after this season. And he said on the day of his announcement that he was going to do everything he can to pitch again this season.
He threw off the stadium mound Saturday, throwing to hitters who were tracking pitches and not swinging. His velocity reached 93 mph.
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“He threw as hard as he’s thrown in the last month-plus,” Hinch said. “That was a good sign.”
Verlander is on essentially a seven-day schedule. He will throw a couple of bullpens and then this Saturday in Chicago, he is expected to throw a live bullpen or sim game. That would put him on track to pitch against the Pirates on the penultimate day of the season.
“We know that’s going to be an emotional and important weekend for him,” Hinch said. “But if we can get him in that series, on that Saturday, that would be in that seven-day cadence. But he’s got a lot of mound sessions between now and then and still some questions to answer.”
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