Latest MRI Of Verlander Showed Improvement; Another MRI Still To Come
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus provided an update Monday on starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who has been on the disabled list since the beginning of the season.
Verlander had a second MRI on Friday, Ausmus told reporters covering the team's series in Minnesota, and the pitcher is scheduled for another MRI next week.
The MRI on Friday showed less fluid in Verlander's strained right triceps, but he will not be able to return to throwing until an MRI shows no inflammation and no fluid in the area.
Overall, however, the latest news was encouraging for the pitcher.
"I think we're on the back end of it," Verlander told the Detroit News. "Definitely moving in the right direction."
A noted workhorse who has said he would be trying to push past the injury if it were September, Verlander said Monday he has struggled to go along with the passive approach needed to allow the triceps to heal.
"This is just one of those things you can't try to force your way through, which is hard because everything I've done in the past is 'All right, let's attack this, let's work through it, let's go throw,'" Verlander said, per the News. "And this is just not one of those things you can do that with. If you do that, it ends up happening what happened - you set yourself back.
"We're not looking to rush back and make one start," Verlander continued. "We're looking to get back and be able to finish the season and pitch successfully at the major league level for an extended period of time, not just for a week or two."