When will Mets’ Justin Verlander make debut?

Justin Verlander has yet to make his New York Mets debut after starting the season on the injured list with a shoulder issue.

According to Joe Pantorno of AMNY, manager Buck Showalter had “nothing negative” to tell reporters about Verlander’s status on Tuesday. But his return won’t come by next week. The 40-year-old will go down to Florida to continue his rehab while the Mets travel to Oakland for their series against the Athletics, and the plan is to get him into a minor-league game. “But that could change,” Showalter said.

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Hours before the Opening Day meeting with the Miami Marlins, the Mets announced that Verlander was being placed on the injured list due to a “low grade teres major strain.”

Verlander updated reporters ahead of Friday’s home opener, per SNY:

“I feel like I really turned a corner a couple days ago. The general soreness I was having is really dissipating quickly. All positive signs. Waiting for that to really completely go away before I step on the gas, but I’ve been able to keep throwing and also increase my intensity of throwing up to like 75%. I can’t give you an exact date but I feel like I’m really close to being able to take the leash off and start getting after it and build up.”

The Mets signed Verlander to a two-year, $86.67 million contract in the offseason. The three-time Cy Young Award winner spent his 17 year career in Detroit and Houston.

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Last season, Verlander won his third Cy Young Award, which he earned by leading the Houston Astros to a World Series win with an MLB-best 1.75 ERA. He made just one start in 2020 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the entire 2021 campaign.