Astros finally see light at the end of the tunnel with latest Justin Verlander update

The Houston Astros are in full trade deadline mode right now. From their flirtation with adding an impact first baseman that may or may not even be available to the consistent need for more pitching, it is clear that the Astros are trying to find a way to add at the trade deadline despite limitations on their ability to do so. However, all of these plans hinge on when (or even if) Justin Verlander is going to return.

Houston placed Verlander on the injured list in the middle of June with what was described as neck discomfort. At first, there was hope that he would be able to return relatively quickly, but it is now the end of July and he still isn't back in the rotation. Understandably, this has concerned Astros fans, who fear a more serious underlying problem with one of the guys who was supposed to be a rotation cornerstone.

Updates on Verlander have been few and far between beyond "he is working through it", but there was optimism coming out of the weekend. According to reports, Verlander threw a bullpen that went well and he is getting significantly closer to starting a rehab assignment.

Astros News: Justin Verlander clears important rehab hurdle, takes step towards rehab assignment

While there was also similar promising news on Luis Garcia, the biggest news was about Verlander, who seemed to impress everyone including Astros manager Joe Espada. While Espada declined to put a timetable on Verlander's return or even speculate on when he could go out on a rehab assignment, he did go out of his way to say that Verlander looked good in his 50-ish pitch bullpen session, which is a far cry better than what he said about Kyle Tucker's progress recently.

If Verlander can return relatively soon, that takes a lot of pressure off the front office to add a big-time starter at the trade deadline. Adding pitching depth is probably a good idea either way, but getting Verlander (as well as Garcia) back could mean that Houston is less likely to empty their farm system for a guy like Blake Snell, who the team has been connected to recently.

As always, this situation is going to remain fluid until right before the deadline. If another player gets hurt or is going to be ready to return sooner than expected, that could cause the Astros to pivot at the last minute in a number of directions. For now, it does feel like some of the urgency to make an impact move on the pitching side of things has been taken down a notch.

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