Justin Verlander returned to the Houston Astros this past offseason after essentially missing two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery.
Since returning, Verlander has posted the best ERA in all of baseball, a 1.84 clip in 24 starts and 152 innings.
However, he has recently run into a little bit of trouble with his right calf.
He left his start on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles after just three innings.
Today, the Astros were given an unfortunate update on their veteran ace.
As a result, Houston has placed Verlander on the 15-Day Injured List.
FOX Sports provided the news about Verlander via Twitter.
Verlander Out
This is bad news for the Astros.
While they still own the best record in the American League, this is a big blow to their rotation, though it doesn’t appear to be too serious of an injury.
In corresponding moves, the Astros recalled right-hander Brandon Bielak and outfielder J.J. Matijevic from Triple-A Sugar Land and sent outfielder Jake Meyers back down.
The Astros luckily still have Lance McCullers, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez to round out the rest of their rotation, but any time without Verlander is bad news for the defending American League champions.
Houston will send Valdez to the mound tonight as they open up a three-game series with the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.
Verlander is currently the favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award.
His 1.84 ERA is the best in all of baseball.
Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays is right behind him with a 2.20 ERA.
We’ll see how long Verlander is out and how it will ultimately impact the Astros’ rotation.
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