Mets Are Gonna Mets: Justin Verlander Placed On Injured List Before His First Start

The New York Mets injury problems continued on Thursday as the team announced that pitcher Justin Verlander would be placed on the Injured List with a low grade teres major strain.

Teres major injuries result in pitcher's having "pain and difficulty" when making sideways or backwards movements with their arm.

Verlander downplayed the injury when speaking with reporters on Thursday. “The fact that I am going to be able to continue to throw is showing how minor of an injury it is. But still, there is something there. If this was a different point of the season, I think pitching is definitely. Playoffs, I am definitely pitching. But being the beginning of the season, coming off spring training, it just makes too much sense to not push it right row," the star pitcher said.

"This isn't best-case scenario, but I would think this is probably second-best case. Very minimal," Verlander continued.

When asked about Verlander's injury, Cy Young Award winning pitcher and OutKick contributor Curt Schilling said, "Injuries like this are both rare and potentially terrifying. The problem is that it's not likely what it is because it's next to impossible to tell without looking inside. They say that because there's no verification process on the media's end and they don't want to deal with the sky is falling media takes. "

The Mets said that Verlander will continue to throw; albeit it at a 'moderate intensity.' He will be reevaluated next week.

It's not great news for the Mets who already dealt with another significant pitching injury when closer Edwin Diaz tore a tendon in his leg that resulted in season-ending surgery earlier during this month's World Baseball Classic.

The 2x World Series Champion Verlander signed with the Mets this past offseason in a two-year, $86.6 million contract. The Mets hope that he and ace Max Scherzer will deliver an untouchable 1-2 pitching rotation that will help bring their World Series Championship hopes closer.

It all calls to mind this classic clip from Family Guy:

This article has been updated to include the new Justin Verlander quotes regarding the injury.