Verlander completed his first bullpen session of spring training Tuesday, stating afterward that he's mainly focused on locating his fastball and replicating his mechanics at this stage of camp, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. "I felt good," Verlander said. "I threw everything. I definitely wouldn't say everything was working, but I would say it's where it needs to be now."
After winning his second American League Cy Young Award in 2019 and covering 258.1 innings between the regular season and the playoffs, Verlander said he waited until January to begin his offseason training program in earnest. As a result, Houston will play things slowly with Verlander this spring and will likely limit his use in the Grapefruit League, but there's little doubt that he'll be ready to roll for the March 26 Opening Day game against the Angels.