Verlander is feeling good about recovery
Ace has been throwing daily this week for the first time since groin procedure
An accumulation of wear throughout Justin Verlander’s 15-year career contributed to groin surgery last month, one that the Astros ace tried twice to put off.
Verlander only relented in mid-March, after another setback prompted an MRI that showed his adductor muscle almost ripped completely from the bone.
Verlander felt and heard a pop in his upper right groin a few days earlier, though it didn’t cause any pain. He visited Dr. William Meyers, a Philadelphiabased core muscle surgeon who performed Verlander’s core surgery in 2014. It was Meyers who delivered the MRI results, showing Verlander the gruesome truth.
“That moment was the first time I realized I wouldn’t be able to make it through a season without completely tearing,” Verlander said Thursday during a conference call.
The surgery ended about five months’ worth of pain for Verlander, Houston’s 37-year-old workhorse starter who assumed he could work through any lingering soreness. Now, he must rehabilitate two injuries amid the coronavirus pandemic — and now knows one caused the other.
This week is the first that Verlander has thrown every day. He’s only doing long toss — not at 100 percent but “with good effort.”
Verlander sounded excited by the big strides he’s made recently with his groin.
“Some good days, some bad, but in general, everything is moving in the right direction,” said Verlander, who has been able to see physical therapists after his March 17 surgery.
“It’s already showing some benefits in my mechanics. In my throwing sessions, I’m feeling better.”
Verlander said his groin soreness first appeared this offseason, but it was never painful enough to stop his workouts. He reported to spring training on time and, in the first few bullpen sessions, realized something was amiss.
“The second I started getting off the mound at a high effort, it started bugging me a little bit,” Verlander said.
Surgery was considered then, but Verlander said it “felt a little aggressive for me.” The reigning American League Cy Young winner assumed he could work through it, similar to his offseason. Manager Dusty Baker downplayed the soreness at the time, perhaps unaware what Verlander was doing to combat it.
In his two Grapefruit League appearances, Verlander subtly tweaked his delivery and mechanics, contorting himself in a way that protected his groin but placed more pressure in other areas. The strained lat he suffered March 8 appears to be a direct result of the mechanical mashup.
“I’m trying to make my delivery as efficient as possible right now,” Verlander said. “I think having this surgery is going to allow me to do that when, maybe if I wouldn’t have had it done, I would have continued to manipulate my body to be able to pitch.”
Verlander suffered a similar lat injury with the Detroit Tigers in 2015. He missed the first two months of that season rehabilitating the injury and finished with a career-low 133⅓ regularseason innings.
On Tuesday, Verlander said his lat “is just about healed.” Being familiar with the perils of overdoing it, Verlander is maintaining a more measured rehab. Given the recent progress, Verlander seemed encouraged — even without a start date for the sport in sight.
“I’ve been taking my time with my lat because I can, but I’ve been pushing my groin,” Verlander said. “And I feel like I’m right now reaching the point where my groin is getting strong and healthy enough that I’m almost throwing too hard, because the more I want to use that leg, the harder I’m throwing.”