Veteran Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander has been placed on the 15-day injured list with neck discomfort, the team announced Tuesday. The move was made retroactive to June 16. To take Verlander’s place on the active roster, the Astros have recalled right-hander Nick Hernandez from Triple-A.
Verlander was scratched from his scheduled Saturday start against the Tigers. “He’s been actually dealing with this for like the last two weeks,” Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters of Verlander’s neck discomfort at the time. “Trying to pitch through it and we just felt like it would be smart to take a break here, skip his start and try to get to the bottom of it.”
Verlander, in his age-41 season, has pitched to a 3.95 ERA (97 ERA+) with a K/BB ratio of 3.00 in 10 starts. In his last two starts combined, he’s allowed a total of eight runs in 10 innings — subpar numbers that may, in part, be explained by the neck discomfort. As for the 24-year-old Arrighetti, he has a 5.33 ERA this season in 52 1/3 innings spread across 11 starts.
Rotation depth is a serious concern for the Astros right now, as starters Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, and José Urquidy are all on the injured list.
The Astros enter Tuesday’s series opener against the White Sox with a record of 33-39 and tied for second place in the American League West. They trail first-place Seattle by nine games.
