What Justin Verlander's move to the 60-day IL means for his timeline to return to Tigers

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, even more catastrophe struck the Tigers over the weekend. Kerry Carpenter went onto the IL with an AC joint sprain, and Gage Workman's contract was selected from Triple-A Toledo. Justin Verlander was moved to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man for Workman.

Workman made his first appearance with the Tigers count after an odyssey to finally get to the major leagues with the team that drafted him, but even his go-ahead, pinch-hit homer to save the Tigers from a sweep against the Royals can't fully distract from the absolute devastation injuries have brought upon the roster.

Verlander moving to the IL is disappointing but far from surprising. Although he expressed confidence in his ability to face hitters toward the end of last week, his first simulated game was a disaster. He threw 38 pitches and recorded zero strikeouts. Hao-Yu Lee and Wenceel Pérez got four at-bats apiece and put the ball in play every single time.

Now that Verlander is on the 60-day, he's not eligible to return until May 31. Again, disappointing but far from surprising.

Tigers move Justin Verlander to 60-day IL, delaying return to end of May (at the earliest)

Tigers fans were immediately visited by the ghost of Alex Cobb when Verlander initially went onto the IL. It was the same issue, just on the opposite hip, and Cobb never took the mound for the Tigers through the duration of his one-year, $15 million deal.

At least the Tigers got one start out of Verlander...? At this point, though, we wouldn't be surprised if never gets his grand return to Comerica Park.

The Tigers have dealt with life without Verlander fine since his first start against the Diamondbacks — Keider Montero has been a more-than-adequate replacement — but his absence is felt even more when Detroit's IL sits at 15 and includes Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize.

AJ Hinch said, "Not a ton [is] different. We've had to listen to the symptoms and get him out on the mound competitive — and now, the build begins." Is "building" not what he was supposed to be doing over this past month and some change?

Basically, Verlander is back to square one. He'll have to face hitters again and probably go on a rehab assignment, which will probably push his return past May 31 — if he does end up coming back at all.

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