Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Athletic) this morning that it's “safe to say” that right-hander. Lance McCullers Jr. will not make it to the majors this year. McCullers last pitched in the majors during Game 3 of the 2022 World Series and has been sidelined for the past two seasons due to muscle strain in his right arm and subsequent surgery to repair his right flexor tendon last summer.
Rehab from that surgery was expected to sideline him for the first half of the 2024 season, though that timeline was further delayed when the club paused its pitching program last month due to persistent arm pain following his bullpen sessions. Club brass also hinted that the right-hander might be able to contribute out of the bullpen as long as September this year despite the setback, although it was noted at the time that McCullers was seeking a second opinion about the move back.
The right-hander doesn't seem to have started a pitching regimen since being shut down earlier last month, and with plenty of time off, he'll have to start his pitching regimen all over again in order to be ready for MLB games. That seems like a tall order with less than two months left in the regular season, and it's unclear if McCullers is being shut down because of a major problem or if he just ran out of time to bounce back. return to the big leagues this year. Regardless of the factors behind McCullers' situation, the right-hander will now look to return in 2025 on the heels of back-to-back losing seasons.
It's a frustrating situation, especially considering the 30-year-old's talent when he's healthy enough to take the mound. The right-hander owns a career 3.48 ERA in 718 2/3 innings since making his major league debut in 2015, and his numbers on the sideline look even better. His 3.35 career FIP is nothing short of impressive, and he has struck out at least 24.7% of the batters he has faced throughout his career including a 26.9% rate since the start of the 2016 season. He is also the club's decorated pitcher of the season, with a postseason ERA of 3.47 in 72 2/3 innings in 12 playoff series. That talent earned McCullers a five-year, $85MM extension before the start of the 2021 season, but more than half of that extension has come and gone with the right-hander throwing just 47 2/3 innings in the regular season. season since it started in 2022.
McCullers is far from the only Astros pitcher made for the year, as he is now set to join Jose Urquidy again Cristian Javier with an eye toward 2025 to return to the mound after both Urquidy and Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Justin Verlander again Luis Garcia are also on the injured list, but both are expected to return to the big leagues this year. Verlander, in fact, felt good following a 37-pitch bullpen session earlier today and (according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle ) told reporters he expects to return to the majors shortly after two starts amid neck strain that have kept him out. rotation from mid-June.
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