ASTROS NEWS
Astros manager provides encouraging update on Houston's ace Justin Verlander
Apr 4, 2024, 3:02 pm
Fans can watch Verlander pitch in Sugar Land this Sunday. Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images.
Houston ace Justin Verlander is scheduled to make his first rehabilitation start at Triple-A Sugar Land Sunday.
The 41-year-old Verlander, who opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder, will throw a bullpen session Thursday in Houston before making his start this weekend.
Manager Joe Espada said he expects this to be the first of two minor league starts Verlander will make before he comes off the injured list.
“Just based on what I’ve seen and out of his live BPs and how he’s talking about how he feels, I think two starts... should be good enough,” Espada said.
Espada said they want Verlander to throw 70-75 pitches on Sunday and get up 85-90 in the following start.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner is in his second stint in Houston after rejoining the team in a trade with the New York Mets in July.
He went 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA in 27 starts for the Mets and Astros last season.
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Astros carved up 2 of the NL’s best, but that’s just part of the story
Jun 30, 2025, 4:53 pm
The Houston Astros announced on Monday that additional imaging has revealed that Jeremy Peña is dealing with a small fracture in one of his ribs.
Peña left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch in the ribs. The club originally believed they had avoided any fractures or breaks, but new information has informed them otherwise.
Update on Jeremy Peña: pic.twitter.com/jfCsCUKWFx
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2025
Peña is heading to the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 28. This news comes at an unfortunate time, with Jeremy posting the best regular season numbers of his career. He's currently slashing .322, .378, .489 with an .867 OPS.
Peña will miss the Rockies and Dodgers series at a minimum.
Story on Peña headed to the IL with quotes from Dana Brown.
“This isn’t one of those things where you have to be sidelined the whole time. Once the inflammation goes down, he might feel good enough to swing a bat.” https://t.co/ih2G09Jpcf
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 30, 2025
Let's hope the team doesn't rush him back too soon and create an even bigger problem. These quotes above from Dana Brown have me concerned. Playing through injuries can create bad habits, and Jeremy has clearly found his swing this season.