Tigers announce Justin Verlander will start Saturday vs. Pirates, likely his last before retiring

The Detroit Tigers announced on Tuesday that veteran pitcher Justin Verlander will start on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates .

Earlier in the 2026 season, Verlander announced this would be his last year in MLB and that he would be retiring. With the Tigers eliminated from playoff contention, barring a change of heart by the veteran, Saturday will be the final start of Verlander's illustrious career.

The longtime starting pitcher returned to the Tigers on a one-year deal for the 2026 season. Verlander spent the first 12 years of his career with the franchise before he was traded to the Houston Astros during the 2017 season.

Despite the excitement surrounding his homecoming, the 43-year-old has made only one start for Detroit this year. Verlander allowed six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings of work on March 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks .

During the game, Verlander suffered a hip and hamstring injury that landed him on the 60-day IL since. The starter has been progressing and feels healthy enough to make one more start before hanging up his cleats.

After Saturday's start, the next time we'll see Verlander may be his induction into Cooperstown.

The pitcher is widely considered a lock for the Hall of Fame thanks to his résumé consisting of 3 AL Cy Young Awards, 2 World Series rings, 1 AL MVP Award (2011), AL Rookie of the Year (2006), 10 All-Star nods, 3 no-hitters, over 260 wins, and more than 3,500 strikeouts.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has not yet spoken about the potential plan for how long Verlander will go on Saturday. It will likely depend on how the veteran's arm feels coming off of injury.

Ideally, Verlander will leave the mound during an inning so that his teammates, opponents and local crowd in Detroit can give him a standing ovation, sending him off into retirement.