Major League Baseball

As Justin Verlander nears return, Mets almost at full strength

Published Apr. 28, 2023 9:43 p.m. ET

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Deesha Thosar

MLB Writer

NEW YORK — For only a week during the offseason, did the Mets have to imagine what their rotation would look like without homegrown ace Jacob deGrom. The two-time Cy Young winner left a whopping hole in Queens when he signed with the Texas Rangers in early December. 

Just a few days later, top Mets brass erased any lingering anguish surrounding deGrom's departure when Steve Cohen shoved $86.7 million in Justin Verlander's direction.

Ever since, Mets faithful have waited nearly five months for the dangerous 1-2 punch of Max Scherzer and Verlander to rattle opposing hitters. With Scherzer nearing the end of his suspension and Verlander successfully completing his one (and probably only) rehab start, the Mets are close to almost being at full strength. 

Verlander said he felt good after throwing 69 pitches over 4.2 scoreless innings in his rehab start for Class AA Binghamton on Friday. The 40-year-old, rehabbing from a major teres strain, struck out six and allowed two hits in the outing. 

Afterward, Verlander told reporters he's "very, very eager" to get back to the Mets.

"Very excited to finally have a chance to pitch for the Mets," Verlander said. "Not how I envisioned starting my career here, but unfortunately these things happen. I'm doing everything I can to be back and be successful. I don't want to say it was quick, I was hoping it'd be quicker. … I guess it didn't take longer than anticipated, but the area that it was, you have to be quite cautious. 

"One rehab start hopefully is enough, and I can dial it in at the big-league level."

The Mets planned for Verlander to complete just the one rehab start before he joins the rotation. As long as the right-hander experiences no pain Saturday and Sunday, he should be on track to make his Mets debut against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Comerica Park. 

As a by-product, Verlander will make his debut against the same team he was drafted by, back in 2004. Verlander pitched for the Tigers for 13 years, including five seasons with Scherzer as his rotation-mate in Detroit. 

Verlander's return to the rotation is a bit more straightforward than Scherzer's. 

Scherzer is a little more than halfway through his 10-game suspension for having too much sticky substance on his hands during his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. The veteran right-hander said he was using just "rosin and sweat" before Major League Baseball served him with the suspension. 

Max Scherzer ejected for for a sticky substance

Ben Verlander and Alex Curry discuss Mets pitcher Max Scherzer being ejected for sticky substance. Scherzer said he used rosin and sweat, provided by MLB.

Scherzer said he decided not to appeal in part because he would not be given an independent and neutral arbitrator, but also because the Mets encouraged him to take his suspension now, so he could return in time for a big series against division-leading Atlanta. 

Mother Nature might be wrecking those plans. In order for Scherzer to return to pitch against the Braves on Monday, the Mets will have to play all of their three games leading up to it. But the forecast in Flushing calls for rain, lots and lots of rain, all weekend. The Mets have plenty of incentive to make sure they get their games in at Citi Field, despite the miserable weather. It will mean they are one step closer to operating at full strength.

"Is there a rain delay? Is there not going to be a rain delay? You start trying to get too far ahead of this and playing too much, especially when it comes to weather," Mets manager Buck Showalter said Friday. "I do know that doubleheaders are killers. That's tough because it messes with your bullpen, it messes with your rotation. In our case, it messes with a player coming off suspension. So, if you see us rained out, you know that it's a really bad forecast. 

"Everything's in play right now. If we say we can't play tonight or tomorrow, the whole script flips." 

Ah, but when Showalter was asked if he feels like his team is close to being whole, the veteran skipper looked down at the white piece of paper in front of him, riddled with red ink, and cataloged all the players that are still missing from his roster. 

The list of mending Mets is long. 

Jose Quintana took a positive step forward Friday when he played catch, his first time throwing since undergoing surgery on his ribs. In about three weeks, he'll undergo more imaging, after which the Mets will begin ramping him up. Quintana, one of three major arms the Mets acquired to help fill the turnover in their rotation, is still on track to return around July. 

There's also veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who is on the injured list with right elbow inflammation with the potential for surgery still not completely ruled out. 

The reality is, the Mets rotation in particular is still months away from resembling the front office's on-paper vision for its pitching staff. But getting Scherzer and Verlander back is, at least, the first step.

"What happens is," Showalter said, "A lot of the time, you’ll plug one hole and another one appears."

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three-and-a-half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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