Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. told reporters Wednesday that a recent MRI on his ailing right arm revealed a “small muscle strain” and that being ready for opening day is “out of the question” (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). McCullers added that there’s no structural damage in his arm and that his ulnar collateral ligament is undamaged. He’ll still be shut down for multiple weeks, which makes a season-opening stint on the injured list seem likely.
It’s another unfortunate health setback for the 29-year-old McCullers, who was limited to eight starts during the regular season, plus another three in the postseason. That lengthy absence was due to a forearm strain dating back to the 2021 American League Division Series. The 2022 season marked the second time in four years that McCullers missed substantial time due to an arm injury; he missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in Nov. 2018.
Recent health woes notwithstanding, McCullers is one of the Astros’ most talented starters, evidenced by four consecutive sub-4.00 ERA seasons with consistently above-average strikeout rates and premium ground-ball rates. Over his past 393 1/3 regular-season innings, McCullers touts a 3.39 ERA, a 26.5% strikeout rate and a huge 55.6% grounder rate. The right-hander’s 10.3% walk rate in that time could stand to be improved upon, but his strikeout and ground-ball rates have helped mitigate what has at times been sub-par command.
The Astros lost Justin Verlander to free agency this winter and opted not to add another starter, due in large part to the organization’s considerable pitching depth. McCullers, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy form a strong quintet upon which to lean, and Houston has one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, Hunter Brown, ready for a big league audition.
If McCullers indeed opens the season on the injured list, his spot in the rotation would likely be filled by Brown. The 24-year-old made a brief MLB debut in 2022, pitching 20 1/3 innings with a sterling 0.89 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 68% grounder rate. That came on top of 106 innings of 2.55 ERA ball in Triple-A — his second successful run at that level.
There’s no indication just yet as to when McCullers might be sufficiently ramped up to join the big league club. His shutdown will likely last into mid-March, and the Astros will presumably have a clearer timeline once he eventually resumes throwing. For now, Brown looks poised to step into the big league rotation, leaving swingman Brandon Bielak and minor league righties Shawn Dubin, J.P. France and former top prospect Forrest Whitley as the Astros’ top depth options in the event of further injury.
McCullers is entering the second season of a five-year, $85MM contract extension and is owed $66.25MM over the next four seasons, beginning with a $15.25MM salary in 2023.
What else is new?
Water is wet?
Will this dude ever be healthy?
Mr. Glass strikes again.
Another brilliant move by James Click. Let’s extend a pitcher who is constantly hurt and who is completely unreliable.
Run, Forrest, run!
Small muscle strain! Out for months! Sure hope he has Aflac or a lot of personal time piled up. Lol.
McCullers is the Astros’ version of Jacob deGrom – great when he’s healthy, but his availability is sporadic at best.
deGrom has the second lowest career ERA of the expansion era and the second highest K/BB ratio in MLB history. Only Kershaw and Sale are ahead, and only by 0.04 and 0.05, respectively. deGrom is offended. Also, consider he has had 3 seasons over 200 innings, while McCullers had a career high of 162 last year and just 128 as the second most. Maybe 30% as good at best
Wow, with all due respect, you took that comment much too seriously.
These stats aren’t correct. LMJ missed the majority of the ’22 regular season and ended with 47.2 IP. Also comparing number of years with __ innings pitched is pointless if the players aren’t close in age. And no, he doesn’t have the same top-end potential as deGrom. But that statement applies to literally every other starter in the profession.
See above
By last, I meant 2021 since the 2023 season hasn’t started. I guess nobody sees it that way.
DeGrom Texas Ranger is delusional. DeGrom has ever done or won anything close to a championship. McCullers is a team time champion. Don’t compare a loser chump to McCullers. And DeGrom will never ever win anything with that crappy organization in Arlington.
What’s a team time champion?
Must be a guy that wins a title by riding teammates coattails and then comparing him to another pitcher that’s much better.
This will help Hunter Brown get a chance to show what he can do.
A couple of the relievers wanted a crack at starting too.
time to move to the pen
And Dusty using HIPAA for not disclosing? What the heck is HIPAA?
It is a lyric in a Cajun song…
HIPAA HIPAA HI-O
HIPAA HIPAA HI-A
Get rid of this steroidal mess!!
Move him to the bullpen, this is getting ridiculous.
Death, taxes, and Lance McCullers suffering an injury setback
No one celebrated the WS harder than McCullers who got obliterated in his one start. Good for him. Speedy recovery, my friend.
Does not surprise me that McCullers would not be ready. I want to see what Hunter has myself. Urquidy and Garcia totally unsure of. And doubt the others in the minors sound impressive. Alvarez out with his hand issue again. Wonder how much that will affect things for the season. And if Brantley not perfect either. Guess can have Chas in left and Meyers center.
Not the best news for Houston fans but I’m excited to see what Hunter Brown can do and if he can build off his success from last season. This might end up being a good problem for Houston if Brown is able to perform as well as he did last season when he was called up. Maybe they go to a 6 man rotation when Lance is healthy again.
So do I drop him from my Head-to-head fantasy team or keep him hoping he gets healthy and gives me big points in my playoff games
Cut bait
Absolutely
Freakin Lance.
The Byron Buxton of pitchers.
Lance dont want to pitch, he want to bang on the can all day
If a book existed that defined “a guy is made of glass”, LM’s picture would be next to it
There is an imperfect but exceptional alternative in the MLB free agent universe at this time: Trevor Bauer.
Mind Blowing with a resounding HELL NO!
But… if you can convince Dana Brown Jim Crane and Bagwell… well then maybe…
NO WAY
It’s a long season. Just hope he’s ready for the playoffs.
Astros will be dethroned in the AL West this season.
By who? Nobody is near them in the West. Likely the first division clinched in the AL.
Said by an Astro homer. Seattle will knock them off. You read it here first.
AND that is why Crane should have (BUT DIDN”T) pickup another Starter, a Catcher, and an Outfielder. Don’t understand what the owner was thinking….I mean Jeff Bagwell. You let Verlander walk, you knew that McCullers wasn’t going to be good after he got SMASHED in the World Series during the Home Run Derby game. Pickup another starter! You also needed to pickup a good Catcher for the future that can actually hit some but NO….let’s not do that. And what is the team going to do is Michael Brantley doesn’t stay health. Definitely not concerned about returning to the playoffs or the World Series.
I think a team that’s been the best in baseball since 2017 deserves the benefit of the doubt? They have let multiple all stars go and haven’t missed a beat. Someone is going to pay for Verlander’s inevitable decline. Houston is the best in baseball because they don’t pay those declines.
Easy there, cowboy! You have a lot of what-if’s and are spiraling. I’ll propose that if any team that can weather injuries and still remain championship caliber, it’s Houston. A lot of that is due to their depth and confidence in the next man up. Panic trades and FA signings can tank a franchise (I’m looking at you, Ed Wade)
McCullers will be fine. If Dusty had proposed protecting a healthy LMJ’s arm by limiting his innings and easing Brown into the rotation, how do you think that would have gone over?
Meanwhile Leon (C, 1B) Dubon (OF) and Meyers (OF) could step in and at least get replacement innings and potentially more.
The Dodgers regularly used an opener and bullpen games last year, and it worked. You play with house money first instead of panicking and pushing all your chips in early.
And…..in other news, MLB Industry analysts have just confirmed that the practice of throwing high spin curveballs (against top competition) for a decade leads to chronic injuries