Mets Place Justin Verlander on IL Ahead of Opening Day

The Cy Young winner figures to be an important piece of the rotation this season.

Prior to the team’s Opening Day game against the Marlins on Thursday, the Mets announced that prized free agent acquisition Justin Verlander would be placed on the 15-day injured list with a low grade teres major strain.

The Mets said that Verlander will continue throwing at “moderate intensity” and would be rescanned in a week in order for the team to provide an updated timetable for his return.

Verlander’s velocity was down in his last spring training start, which the 40-year-old pitcher attributed to “routine spring discomfort.”

Verlander is the second key injury to the Mets’ rotation, joining José Quintana on the injured list. Verlander is not expected to miss a significant amount of time, but Quintana could miss up to half the season after having a bone graft procedure to remove a lesion from his ribcage.

As for Verlander, he signed a two-year, $86.66 million contract this offseason heading into his age 40 season with the Mets. Fresh off winning a World Series title with the Astros and capturing the American League Cy Young with a 1.75 ERA a year ago, Verlander proved that he still has plenty left in the tank.

He’s expected to serve as the team’s No. 2 starter alongside team ace Max Scherzer to provide the Mets with a proverbial one-two punch at the top of the rotation.