The 2024 Major League Baseball season is going to start in 23 days and today it was announced that four pitchers are experiencing injuries and will miss the start of the season. Three of them will start on the injured list but are expected to be back and the other is expected to miss the entire season.
Injured Pitchers
Justin Verlander
It was reported that Justin Verlander would start the season on the injured list with a shoulder issue. Verlander missed some time earlier last season when he was with the New York Mets. The three-time Cy Young award winner made 27 starts between the Mets and Astros last season going 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 144 strikeouts in 162.1 innings. The Astros rotation for Opening Day right now without Verlander is expected to be Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Hunter Brown, and J.P. France.
Sonny Gray
Gray signed with the Cardinals this offseason signing a three-year $75 million contract. He is expected to start the season on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Last season with the Minnesota Twins he made 32 starts going 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA, a 2.83 WHIP, and 183 strikeouts in 184 innings. The Cardinals expected rotation come Opening Day looks like Miles Mikolas, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Steven Matz, and Zack Thompson.
Braxton Garrett
Garrett is dealing with a shoulder injury and will miss the start of the season. He made 31 appearances last season with 30 of those coming as starts. He finished 9-7 with a 3.66 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and 156 strikeouts in 159.2 innings. With Garrett missing the start of the season and Sandy Alcantara being out for the season after Tommy John surgery the Marlins rotation is expected to be Jesus Luzardo, Eury Perez, A.J. Puk, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers.
Lucas Giolito
Giolito signed with the Red Sox for a two-year deal worth $38.5 million it included an opt-out after the first year, but he is likely done for the season with a partially torn UCL which means he’ll probably stay with the Red Sox to prove himself. Giolito last season spent time with three different teams starting the season with the Chicago White Sox and then pitching for the Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Guardians making 33 starts he finished 8-15 with a 4.88 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 204 strikeouts in 184.1 innings. The Red Sox rotation now for 2024 is expected to be Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock.
Wrap Up: Arms Available
The Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, and Boston Red Sox may need to address their pitching if these injuries end up being worse. The Red Sox need to address their pitching. There are some names available still and some are surprising such as Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell. The other names out there are Trevor Bauer, Michael Lorenzen, Rich Hill, Domingo German, and Noah Syndergaard, among many others. It’ll be interesting to see what these teams do if anything to address the injury situation.
