With retirement just around the corner, Tigers legend Justin Verlander has been making every effort to return to the mound before the end of the season. The 43-year-old righty, whose only appearance this year came in his season debut on March 30th, showed positive signs while throwing off a mound yesterday. According to The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and others, Verlander touched 93 mph during the session and is on track to potentially pitch in Detroit’s final regular season series against the Pirates.
“JV is scheduled on a seven-day plan,” manager A.J. Hinch told Stavenhagen and others. “He’ll get a couple bullpen sessions. There will be something in Chicago, pregame, a live BP or sim game of some sort to try to push that intensity and volume even more, which would then put him on track for another seven days after that.” Hinch later added that he isn’t making a firm commitment to using Verlander in the Pirates series, as the righty still has “some questions to answer” in terms of how he feels physically. Nonetheless, it seems the goal is for Verlander to make one last appearance at Comerica Park before retirement.
Verlander rejoined the Tigers on a one-year, $13MM pact in February, with $11MM of that guarantee being deferred. Although he was no longer a dominant ace, that money was still justified given the righty’s solid performance with the Giants in 2025. In 29 starts last year, Verlander held opponents to a 3.85 ERA, so there was reason to believe he could still be a serviceable backend starter while mentoring the Tigers’ other arms.
Instead, Verlander lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his first start of 2026, and the Tigers placed him on the 15-day injured list on April 1st with left hip inflammation. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 10th. He made a pair of rehab starts in early June and might have been reinstated from the IL, but a hamstring strain came up and kept him out of action. In July, Verlander announced he would retire at the end of the season.
It’s unclear what role Verlander would be used in if he makes it back for the final series. He’d be forgoing a minor league rehab stint (the minor league season is wrapping up anyway) and at best, he will have progressed to simulated games, based on Hinch’s comments. An abbreviated start or perhaps a bullpen appearance seem most likely under those circumstances. The Tigers are all but certain to miss the playoffs, so they can afford to give Verlander a proper sendoff, regardless of the exact role.
Another injured starter is also working his way back in a new role. Right-hander Jack Flaherty threw a two-inning simulated game after Verlander’s mound session, according to Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press. Flaherty, who has not pitched in the Majors since July 20th due to right flexor inflammation, felt good after the simulated game and is eager to make it back before the end of the season. He’s not fully built up and only threw 1 1/3 innings in a rehab appearance on September 6th, so any big league appearances would likely come out of the bullpen.
“I don’t know how hard it was coming out, but at that point, I’m going off their swings,” Flaherty told Seidel and others. “It felt really good coming out. Everything was over the plate and had good sharpness.” Flaherty, who turns 31 next month, is set to become a free agent after posting a 4.59 ERA in 19 starts for the Tigers this year. That marks his second straight year of middling run prevention, though Flaherty’s 26.2% strikeout rate remains above average and should garner some interest on a short-term deal. A couple of relief appearances won’t move the needle on that, but they will at least show he’s fully healthy heading into the offseason.
On the position player side of things, outfielder Wenceel Pérez won’t be making it back before the end of the season. Pérez went on the IL back in June after a freak accident in which a plyo band snapped and struck him in the left eye, resulting in an orbital fracture. He remains unable to do any baseball activity while he deals with vision issues, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. “The light, the activity still bothers him,” said Hinch of Pérez’s condition. “He’s doing fine. He’s still quote-unquote, rehabbing. But it’s going to be really hard to see him here this year.” Pérez is arbitration eligible for the first time in 2027, though he won’t earn much of a raise on this year’s near-minimum salary after posting a 63 wRC+ in 175 plate appearances.
Photo courtesy of Josh Boland, Imagn Images
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