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Justin Verlander Still Fighting for One Last Comerica Park Moment
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- Justin Verlander Still Fighting for One Last Comerica Park Moment
Justin Verlander has already announced that the 2026 season will be the last of his remarkable Major League career.
He is not ready for the final pitch to have happened in March.
The 43-year-old Detroit Tigers right-hander continues working toward one final return to a Major League mound after hip and hamstring injuries wiped out nearly his entire reunion season in Detroit. There are no guarantees yet, but manager A.J. Hinch believes the possibility remains very real.
"I sense that he is building towards something positive, and that he's going to be able to make at least one appearance ," Hinch said.
For Tigers fans who have spent months waiting for a proper Verlander farewell at Comerica Park, that qualifies as meaningful progress.
Justin Verlander Tigers return Justin Verlander final appearance
Verlander Is Finally Back on the Mound
Verlander has advanced beyond simply playing catch.
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He has begun throwing from the slope of the mound, an important step toward eventually completing full bullpen sessions and facing hitters.
After one recent throwing session, Verlander had a simple description for Hinch.
That may not sound monumental for a pitcher with more than two decades of Major League experience.
For Verlander, it is.
His comeback attempt has repeatedly stalled this season. Detroit originally hoped his absence with left hip inflammation would be relatively brief, but the recovery stretched through the spring. Verlander then appeared ready to return in June before suffering a left hamstring strain during a bullpen session.
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The setback erased what would have been his first home start at Comerica Park since returning to the Tigers.
Instead, his 2026 Major League résumé remains one start: March 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He allowed five runs over 3⅔ innings that afternoon.
Nobody expected that might be the final outing of his career.
Verlander certainly does not want it to be.
One Last Comerica Park Moment Still Matters
When Verlander announced that he would retire following the 2026 season , the news immediately created one obvious hope in Detroit.
One more start.
One more walk from the bullpen.
One more opportunity for Tigers fans to stand and recognize one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history.
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Verlander has made clear throughout his recovery that the opportunity matters to him, too. Even after his latest injury setback, he promised to continue pushing toward a return rather than allow an enormously frustrating season to dictate how his career ended.
Hinch has been careful not to promise anything.
That caution makes sense.
Detroit has already watched two potential Verlander returns disappear because his body did not cooperate, and there is little reason to create another artificial deadline.
But Hinch recently described Verlander as being as encouraged as he had heard him since the injury.
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That is considerably different from ruling him out.
Detroit Tigers Tyler Kinley
The Clock Is Running
Verlander does not have unlimited time.
Detroit's regular season ends Sept. 27, leaving only a few weeks for him to progress from mound work to bullpen sessions, potentially face hitters and prove he is physically capable of pitching in a Major League game.
The Tigers also have no reason to force the issue simply for sentiment.
Verlander's health has to cooperate.
But this is not an ordinary rehabilitation assignment.
Verlander has already confirmed that 2026 will conclude his 21-year Major League career . He will retire with three Cy Young Awards, an American League MVP, two World Series championships and more than 3,500 strikeouts.
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Much of that career is inseparable from Detroit.
The Tigers drafted Verlander second overall in 2004. He won Rookie of the Year in Detroit, threw his first two no-hitters as a Tiger, won his MVP and first Cy Young Award here and helped lead the franchise to two American League pennants.
His return this season was supposed to provide one final chapter.
Injuries have largely taken that away.
There may still be time for an epilogue.
Hinch believes Verlander is moving toward something positive.
Now Verlander has to convince his body to give him one more night.
