Justin Verlander targeting one final Tigers start before retirement

Justin Verlander is targeting one final start in a Tigers uniform before calling it a career, per CBS Sports' Mike Axisa — a send-off that would close a story that has been running, in one form or another, for the better part of two decades.

Verlander, who announced earlier this summer that 2025 would be his final season in MLB, has been working through hip and hamstring injuries on a 7-day return plan, per earlier Posterior Wire reporting. The target, per that reporting, is a potential final-series appearance against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though no firm commitment has been made. The quote Axisa surfaced captures the logic with characteristic bluntness: "What are we saving my arm for?"

It is, genuinely, a reasonable question.

What happened

Per CBS Sports, Verlander is targeting one last start with Detroit before retiring at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The reporting does not frame this as a club announcement or a locked-in date — it is a target, with the operative uncertainty being whether his body cooperates on the timeline he and the organization are working toward.

The broader context, per earlier Posterior Wire reporting, is that Verlander has been managing hip and hamstring injuries and is on a structured 7-day return plan. The Pirates series represents the window he is aiming for. Whether that window stays open is, as of this writing, still an open question — the reporting is careful not to treat this as a scheduled event.

Why it matters

There is a version of this story that is purely ceremonial — a curtain call, a standing ovation, a microphone moment. That version is real and it matters. But there is also an operational layer worth noting.

Verlander's career began in Detroit. He spent the formative years of his career as a Tiger, and his return to Detroit for the 2025 season — his final one — gave the ending a geographic coherence that baseball does not always provide. The sport is littered with great players who finished in the wrong jersey, in the wrong city, in a late-September roster spot that nobody quite knew what to do with. Verlander, if this comes together, avoids that particular indignity.

The quote Axisa reported — "What are we saving my arm for?" — is also, in its way, a statement about how a pitcher thinks about the end. There is no next spring. There is no protecting the elbow for a playoff push that requires him. There is only the question of whether he can get through one more start, in the city where it started, and whether that is worth the attempt. Per the reporting, he believes it is.

The numbers

The Tigers enter this stretch of the schedule at 70-79 (.470), sitting 4th in the AL Central and 6 games back of the division lead. Their Wild Card position is 8th, 5.5 games relative to the cut line. They have won four straight.

That four-game winning streak is worth noting not because it changes the postseason math — it does not, meaningfully — but because it gives the final weeks of this season something to play for beyond ceremony. A team that is playing well, even in a lost season, is a better backdrop for a farewell start than a team sleepwalking to the finish.

Where the club stands

At 70-79, Detroit is not going anywhere in October, and the standings make that plain. Fourth place in the AL Central, 6 games back, with a Wild Card number that would require a sustained run and significant help. The four-game winning streak is a pleasant data point, not a reversal of fortune.

The upcoming schedule takes the Tigers to Rogers Centre for a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays. Troy Melton is the probable starter Monday against José Soriano. Drew Anderson is lined up for Tuesday against a Blue Jays starter listed as TBD. Wednesday's probable is also TBD on the Detroit side, with Max Scherzer going for Toronto.

None of those games involve Verlander, per the available pitching probables — which is consistent with the 7-day return plan targeting the Pirates series rather than the Toronto trip.

Is Verlander pitching against the Pirates?

Per earlier Posterior Wire reporting, the Pirates series is the target for Verlander's potential final appearance, but no firm commitment has been made. The 7-day return plan was reported earlier this week, which puts the timeline in the right neighborhood for a late-September appearance — but hip and hamstring injuries do not always respect timelines, and the reporting is careful not to treat this as a done deal.

The short answer: it is what he is working toward. It is not yet a scheduled start.

What we don't know yet

The most significant open question is medical: whether Verlander's hip and hamstring hold up well enough over the next several days to allow him to take the mound. The 7-day plan, per earlier reporting, is a structure, not a guarantee. No firm commitment has been made, and the reporting from CBS Sports frames this as a target rather than a scheduled event.

It is also worth noting that the reporting does not specify the exact game or date within the Pirates series, nor does it detail what "targeting" looks like in terms of bullpen sessions, simulated games, or any intermediate steps between now and a start. Those details, if they exist, have not been reported.

What to watch

The obvious thing to watch is whether Verlander clears the next several days of his return plan without setback. Any update on his physical status — from the club, from Verlander himself, or from beat reporters covering the Tigers — will clarify whether the Pirates series remains a realistic target or whether the timeline shifts.

Beyond the medical question, there is the matter of what a final start actually looks like logistically. September rosters expand to 28 players under current rules, which gives clubs more flexibility in how they construct a given day's game. Whether Detroit structures the appearance as a traditional start, a shortened outing, or something else is not addressed in the current reporting.

A week removed from the earlier Posterior Wire item on Verlander's 7-day plan, the situation is essentially unchanged in its uncertainty: the intent is there, the target is there, and the body is the variable. For a pitcher who has spent two decades making the body cooperate on his terms, one more start is not an unreasonable ask. Whether it happens is still, genuinely, an open question.