Justin Verlander appears to still be on schedule in his return from a shoulder strain that has withheld him from making his Mets debut.
The 40-year-old right-hander threw 43 pitches across three innings in a simulated game on Sunday afternoon in Port St. Lucie, FL, which is believed to be the penultimate hurdle needed to be cleared before taking a big-league mound.
“All good. We’ll see how he recovers tomorrow,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “He went out there and got after it a couple pitches toward the end. He looked good.”
The final step in Verlander’s rehab is a minor-league start, which is set for Friday as he keeps to a five-day schedule to help ramp him up. Should things go off without a hitch, the Mets’ co-ace will return to the big leagues for a May 3 start against the Detroit Tigers assuming the Mets keep him on that five-day schedule.
While Showalter added that Verlander is “anxious” to get back, his return can’t come a moment too soon for a Mets team that is piecing together a starting rotation to remain afloat — which makes their recent 7-3 west-coast road trip all the more impressive.
Max Scherzer opted not to appeal his 10-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball after he was ejected by umpire Phil Cuzzi for having a sticky substance on his hand and glove. Scherzer remained adamant that it was Rosin mixed with sweat exacerbated by the alcohol that he was ordered to wash it off with in front of a league official.
He’s slated to return on May 1, two days before Verlander’s expected debut.
Meanwhile, Carlos Carrasco is on the 15-day IL with a bone spur in his elbow. He received an injection and should begin throwing sometime this week, but surgery is still not off the table, yet.
Jose Quintana is also out until at least July after undergoing rib surgery to remove a benign lesion. It has forced the Mets to call on David Peterson and Tylor Megill — both of whom were expected to start the season in Triple-A — before turning to southpaw Joey Lucchesi for an impressive spot start in which he threw seven shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
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