Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander will start season on disabled list

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander will start the season on the 15-day disabled list

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander will start the season on the 15-day disabled list, manager Brad Ausmus said on Thursday. 

Verlander left his start in last Friday's spring training game with a cramp in his right triceps muscle. At the time, the Tigers did not expect him to miss his next scheduled start, but that later changed and Verlander was scratched from his planned Thursday start. 

This will be Verlander's first trip to the disabled list in his career.

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Ausmus told reporters he is "optimistic" that Verlander can make his regular season debut against the Cleveland Indians on April 12. The manager named Saturday and Sunday as checkpoints for Verlander, saying the team is hopeful the 32-year-old can throw a bullpen session then. 

Verlander went 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA last season for the Tigers. In 2011, he was named both the AL MVP and AL Cy Young Award winner after winning a career-high 24 games.

Ausmus also announced on Thursday that Detroit reliever Bruce Rondon will start the season on the DL after an MRI on his right shoulder showed tendinitis.

The Tigers open the 2015 season on April 6 at home against the Minnesota Twins. 

- Molly Geary