Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander will start for Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday in his first real action since injuring his left hip in late March.
The 43-year-old veteran completed two simulated games before beginning his rehab assignment with the Mud Hens.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner was placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation on April 4.
Tuesday’s game against Iowa in Des Moines will be the first for Verlander since he allowed five runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings in Detroit’s 9-6 loss at Arizona on March 30, the lone appearance so far in his 21st season.
“Getting him into competition is something that we’ve been pushing for and he’s been pushing for,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Sunday’s series finale against the host Chicago White Sox. “We feel like we can take a normal start and deal with odds and ends of a start, whether it’s various pitch counts, ups and downs. He can pitch significant innings.”
Verlander has built up to approximately 70 pitches so far but it is not clear how much time he will need on the rehab assignment. He will return to Detroit on Wednesday to meet with the team after its road trip to Tampa, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“I’m happy that he’s getting to that next step,” Hinch said. “I don’t know what it means or how many innings he’s even going to go.”
A nine-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and 2011 American League MVP, Verlander is 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA and 3,554 strikeouts in 556 career starts with four teams.
On Sunday, the Tigers activated outfielder/DH Kerry Carpenter from the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Gage Workman to Toledo.
Carpenter landed on the IL with a left shoulder sprain on May 10, one day after crashing into the wall in right field on an inside-the-park homer by Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr.
Carpenter, 28, stayed in the game after Witt’s first-inning homer before exiting two innings later with the sprained AC joint. He is batting .216 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 37 games this season.
Workman, 26, batted .158 with two homers and five RBIs in 16 games after being called up to replace Carpenter on the roster.
