Astros supervisor Joe Espada instructed reporters (together with Chandler Rome of The Athletic) this morning that it’s “fairly protected to say” that right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. won’t pitch within the majors this yr. McCullers final pitched within the majors throughout Recreation 3 of the 2022 World Sereis and has been sidelined the previous two seasons resulting from a muscle pressure in his proper arm and a subsequent surgical procedure to restore his proper flexor tendon final summer time.
Rehab from that surgical procedure was anticipated to depart him out of motion for the primary half of the 2024 season, although that timeline was additional delayed when the membership paused his throwing program final month resulting from lingering arm soreness following his bullpen periods. Membership brass subsequently indicated the right-hander could possibly contribute out of the bullpen for the September stretch run this yr regardless of the setback, although even on the time it was famous that McCullers was in search of a second opinion relating to the setback.
The suitable-hander seemingly has not resumed a throwing program since being shut down early final month, and with a lot break day would certainly must restart his throwing program from scratch as a way to prepare for MLB video games. That looks as if a tall order with lower than two months remaining within the common season, and it’s finally not but clear if McCullers is being shut down resulting from a major setback or if he has merely run out of time to work his approach again to a return within the majors this yr. Whatever the specifics behind McCullers’s state of affairs, the right-hander will now look towards a return in 2025 on the heels of back-to-back misplaced seasons.
It’s an particularly irritating state of affairs given the 30-year-old’s appreciable expertise when wholesome sufficient to take the mound. The suitable-hander owns a profession 3.48 ERA in 718 2/3 innings of labor since he first made his huge league debut again in 2015, and his peripheral numbers look even higher. His profession 3.35 FIP is nothing wanting glorious, and he’s struck out at the very least 24.7% of batters confronted in each season of his profession together with a 26.9% charge because the begin of the 2016 season. He’s additionally a embellished postseason hurler for the membership, with a 3.47 postseason ERA in 72 2/3 innings of labor throughout 12 playoff collection. That expertise earned McCullers a five-year, $85MM extension previous to the beginning of the 2021 season, however greater than half of that extension has now come and gone with the right-hander having thrown simply 47 2/3 innings whole within the common season because it started in 2022.
McCullers is much from the one Astros hurler completed for the yr, as he’ll now be part of Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier in trying towards the 2025 for his or her returns to the mound after each Urquidy and Javier underwent Tommy John surgical procedure again in June. Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia are additionally on the injured listing, however each of them are anticipated to pitch within the majors once more this yr. Verlander, in actual fact, felt good following a 37 pitch bullpen session earlier at present and (in accordance with Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) instructed reporters that he expects to return to the majors after simply two rehab begins amid a neck pressure that’s saved him out of the rotation since mid-June.
