HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- The Astros placed Justin Verlander on the 15-day IL Tuesday after he left Sunday's start with right calf discomfort, but general manager James Click he believes it will be a short-term stay.
"This was relatively good news, is my understanding, Click said. "The fact that there is no muscle fiber disruption indicates a shorter healing time."
An MRI taken Monday revealed fascial disruption, and Click said it would take a 48-72 hours before the team is able to get a clearer timetable on when Verlander can return, but with the damage is to the fascia and not the muscle the team is confident he'll be back sooner rather than later.
Verlander acknowledged things could've been much worse.
"I feel like I kind of dodged a bullet here where the muscle isn't actually involved," Verlander said. "It is the fascia, which I feel I feel pretty fortunate about because I didn't realize how serious even a very minor muscle calf injury can be. If that were to happen, we'd be having a much different conversation."
The injury occurred in the third inning on Sunday when Verlander went to cover first base after Cedric Mullins was caught in a rundown.
"I went to go sprint first and when as soon as I dropped step to go run, I felt a pop right in the middle of my calf," Verlander said. "Initially was like, ok, well, definitely, something's wrong. Let me just walk it off off the field and reassess, and as I was walking off the field, it just started tightening up a little bit more and more and as I was walking through the dugout, I just told (Astros trainer Jeremiah Randall) 'Hey, come Come talk to me down under the tunnel'."
Verlander's first season back from Tommy John Surgery has been stellar. His 1.84 ERA is best in baseball and he's tied with Tony Gonsolin and Kyle Wright with 16 wins, so while he's disappointed to find himself on the injured list, Verlander is hopeful it's a small bump in the road.
"I'm quite optimistic right now, and sometimes these things just happen. It was just a freak moment, the game kind of caught me off guard. I reacted and this happened. I'm not gonna sit here and regret it, but if it's only 15 days then I feel like I dodged a bullet."
