Back on Jun. 13, Detroit Tigers one-time ace Justin Verlander finally returned to the mound after spending the first two-plus months of the 2015 campaign on the sidelines with a triceps injury he sustained in Spring Training. The question on everyone’s mind was the issue of what to expect from the 32-year-old after he had a down year in 2013 and then had an even worse season last year.

Well, through his first six starts in 2015, Verlander is winless. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young award winner has gone an unsightly 0-3 with a 6.62 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP so far. With the exception of a game he tossed against the Minnesota Twins back in Jul. 10, when he went 7.2 innings and allowed only one run on five hits while striking out six, it has not been a very pretty sight to watch.

The fact that Verlander is now looking like a shell of his former self is unfortunate for the Tigers for a couple of reasons. For starters, the rest of the rotation is in rough shape right now as well. David Price has been having an excellent season upon assuming the role of the ace and Anibal Sanchez has certainly made strides, but the recent struggles of Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene have hurt the team in a big way. Detroit has also endured rough starts from Kyle Ryan and Buck Farmer as well. As a matter of fact, Kyle Lobstein, who is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, was quite arguably the team’s most consistent No. 5 starter before landing on the DL.

While many had their fingers crossed and looked at Verlander’s return as a possible beacon of hope, it simply hasn’t worked out thus far. Now sitting 10.5 games back in the AL Central and 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, Verlander and the Tigers don’t have much time left to get it together if they wish to secure their fifth consecutive playoff berth.

The other troublesome issue with Verlander is his contract. When the deal was signed prior to the beginning of the 2013 season, he was certainly deserving of it, but the Tigers are now in a situation where they could be looking at paying a No. 4 or No. 5 starter a salary of $28 million annually through 2019.

Of course, Verlander could still turn it around, but he hasn’t been the answer thus far. If the Tigers believe that they are still in the race, they may need to start thinking about at least bringing a Dan Haren or a Mike Leake into the fold.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.