Dusty Baker Announces He Removed Justin Verlander From Spring Training Start With Triceps Soreness

Houston Astros fans were left holding their breath after Justin Verlander, who was expected to throw four innings on Sunday, was removed from the game after two scoreless frames. Well, Dusty Baker has now provided an explanation for JV's early departure.

The Astros skipper revealed that he opted to take a cautions approach with the ace after Verlander told him he was with experiencing right triceps soreness during his start.

The 37-year-old Verlander is Houston's best pitcher, and arguably its most important player. A loss of Verlander for extended time would pose a devastating blow to the Astros' pitching staff. He's been one of the most durable veterans in baseball over the past several years, and Baker made a move to extend that durability as opposed to challenging it on Sunday.

While the triceps soreness is still a cause for some concern, it's certainly encouraging to know that the move was precautionary.

Verlander will now undergo tests to make sure that the soreness is not a symptom of a greater injury. Since being traded to Houston, Verlander has posted a 2.45 ERA and a 7.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 73 starts. He won the AL Cy Young Award last season and finished as the runner-up for the award in 2018.