HOUSTON — Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will not pitch for the Houston Astros this season, manager Joe Espada said Sunday morning, completing another lost season in McCullers’ star-crossed career.
Espada said there has been no definitive diagnosis for McCullers, who stopped his throwing program last month after his arm was not bouncing back well. McCullers has not addressed reporters since his shutdown.
“Where he’s at right now, I think it’s safe to say that I don’t think he’ll pitch this season,” Espada said Sunday. “It’d be almost too much to ask for him to ramp up and get him back this season. Everything is moving in the right direction, but just where we’re at and the number of games (remaining), that’s where we’re at.”
McCullers hasn’t pitched in a major-league game since allowing five home runs during Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. He missed all of last season after undergoing flexor tendon surgery, a procedure from which he is still attempting to come back.
McCullers has thrown just 47 2/3 regular-season innings since a five-year, $85 million contract extension that took effect during the 2022 season. The deal will keep the homegrown right-hander in Houston through 2026 and pay him $17.7 million during each of the next two seasons.
When healthy, McCullers’ upside is undeniable. He has a 3.48 ERA during 718 2/3 major-league innings, including a 2.96 clip in 36 starts since 2021.
Persistent arm problems have prevented him from showing his potential for long stretches. McCullers pitched with a torn ulnar collateral ligament during the 2018 playoffs and, upon the completion of the postseason, underwent Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss 2019. A flexor tendon strain, for which he underwent surgery after the 2022 playoffs, limited him to eight regular-season starts in 2022.
McCullers has thrown 265 innings and made 47 starts since 2020.
Other than to accentuate the team’s lack of rotation depth, McCullers’ absence does not dramatically impact the 2024 Astros. General manager Dana Brown had been measured, at best, in predicting any contributions from McCullers, who is one of six Astros starters on the injured list.
Now four of those six are not expected to pitch again this season.
(Photo of Lance McCullers Jr. pitching in the 2022 World Series: Bill Streicher / USA Today)
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