Goochland High School alum Justin Verlander, also known as three-time Cy Young winner and future first-ballot Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, suffered a setback in his rehab, and is likely out “weeks,” Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch confirmed on Friday.
Verlander, 43, is the oldest active player in MLB; he could very well be done.
“All of a sudden, my hamstring was bugging me, and I had to cut my bullpen short. Anytime I’m not able to get my work in, it means something’s definitely off, so we decided to get it looked at, and there’s a strain. Just really unfortunate, man. It just sucks. I don’t know how else to say it,” said Verlander, who was on the injured list with a hip strain, but was due to make a start for the Tigers on Sunday.
He’s made one start in 2026, taking the L in a 9-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks way back on March 30, in which he gave up five runs on six hits in 3.2 innings.
Verlander most recently won the Cy Young in 2022, at the age of 39, when he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA with Houston.
His last two seasons have seen him go 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA with Houston in 2024 and 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA in 2025.
Verlander signed a one-year, $13 million contract with Detroit in the offseason.
After posting a 0.38 ERA as a prep at Goochland, Verlander matriculated at the college level at ODU, where he was 21-18 with a 2.58 ERA in three seasons – he had 7-6 records in each of the three – with 427 strikeouts in 334.5 innings.
That was enough to make him the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the Tigers; he made his Major League debut in 2005, and was a 17-game winner for Detroit in 2006.
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Chris Graham
