The Detroit Tigers won the David Price sweepstakes at the MLB trade deadline to add yet another weapon to a stacked rotation, but now one of their prized arms could be at risk of being out for some time as Justin Verlander is dealing with a shoulder issue.
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Verlander isn't having the kind of season most Tigers fans are used to, but he's still an important piece of Detroit's rotation and he admitted he is "concerned" after leaving Monday night's eventual 11-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates after one inning due to an issue with his shoulder.
"Obviously, I'm concerned," Verlander told MLB.com. "There's a level of concern. You go to get an MRI, it's never a good sign."
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Verlander underwent an MRI on Tuesday and patiently awaits the results following manager Brad Ausmus pulling him from Monday's game due to a sore shoulder causing him to make an adjustment to his delivery.
Verlander, 31, has never spent a day on the disabled list and has made at least 30 starts in every season of his nine-year full-time career. The durable right-hander was a little worried to have to deal with a major injury scare for the first time in his career.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous," Verlander said, "but I've never been through this before. I'm going to be a little nervous. Keep my hopes high, my fingers crossed. Hopefully it's nothing."
Coming off of a 19-inning marathon with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tigers were hopeful the workhorse Verlander would go deep into the game, but after a few defensive miscues, the six-time All-Star was in the hole by giving up five runs on four hits with some lackluster defense behind him.
"Justin being the horse that he is, he knew we were in dire straits and he wanted to pitch," Ausmus said. "The shoulder bothered him a little bit in the bullpen."
Ausmus said it looked as though Verlander's delivery was different, but the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner and Most Valuable Player was hoping to return, despite later admitting he felt off.
"Warming up, it didn't feel great," he said. "Once I was out there on the mound in a game situation, it didn't feel too bad. It just wasn't there at all."
While Verlander hasn't had his usual dazzling year, he is a huge part of a rotation that includes fellow former Cy Young Award winners Price and Max Scherzer as well as 13-game winner Rick Porcello and the solid Anibal Sanchez.
The loss was key for Detroit as they allowed the surging Kansas City Royals to take sole possession of first place in the American League Central by a half-game. Detroit holds the second wild-card spot, but could be in danger of not being able to win the AL Central for the fourth consecutive year.
Verlander is 10-11 this season with a 4.76 ERA, 1.424 WHIP and 118 strikeouts.
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