The Astros introduced that Lance McCullers Jr. underwent forearm surgical procedure on Tuesday, which can finish the right-hander’s 2023 season. The process eliminated a bone spur and, extra considerably, repaired McCullers’ broken proper flexor tendon.
McCullers has been rehabbing a muscle pressure suffered early in spring coaching. Houston GM Dana Brown mentioned final month that the crew was trying on the All-Star break as a really tough estimate for when McCullers can be totally able to return, however within the interim, McCullers suffered a pair of setbacks — he went from mound work to throwing off of flat floor and was then shut down altogether attributable to continued soreness in his proper arm. A subsequent MRI presumably revealed the flexor tendon harm, and thus McCullers will now shut the books on his 2023 marketing campaign with no single pitch thrown.
As Brown defined in a crew press launch, “every time [McCullers] constructed himself as much as an elevated pitch whole off the mound, the ache would come again. It’s unlucky, however we stay up for him being again on the mound subsequent season.”
Maybe noteworthy is the truth that Brown and the discharge’s preliminary paragraph didn’t specify when McCullers could possibly be again in 2024, which might seemingly trace that the righty gained’t be prepared for the beginning of spring coaching.
This may mark the second misplaced season for McCullers within the final 5 years, as he additionally missed the entire 2019 marketing campaign attributable to Tommy John surgical procedure. A flexor tendon pressure suffered through the 2021 playoffs additionally restricted McCullers to 47 2/3 innings final season, although he did return in time to make some begins down the stretch and all through the postseason through the Astros’ World Collection championship run. The press launch famous that the spring coaching damage represented a reaggravation of that very same 2021 damage, so hopefully the surgical procedure will lastly right the difficulty that has plagued McCullers for the higher a part of two years.
Between McCullers’ process and Luis Garcia’s Tommy John surgical procedure, the Astros have misplaced two members of their projected beginning 5 to season-ending accidents. Jose Urquidy has additionally been on the 15-day IL because the begin of Could attributable to shoulder irritation, and whereas an MRI got here again clear, Urquidy isn’t anticipated again till maybe the All-Star break. If these accidents weren’t sufficient, former prime prospect Forrest Whitley
may also miss the remainder of the season attributable to a lat pressure.
Considerably remarkably, Houston’s makeshift group of starters has nonetheless been one of many higher rotations in baseball, within the newest testomony to the group’s minor league depth. Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier have led the best way as extra skilled arms, however rookies Hunter Brown and J.P. France and swingman Brandon Bielak have all pitched properly. The most recent version of the MLBTR Podcast addressed what the Astros may do on the deadline in regard to including beginning pitching, together with whether or not or not they could prioritize hitting over pitching within the wake of Yordan Alvarez’s indirect pressure.
Between McCullers’ abbreviated 2022 season and now his misplaced 2023 season, it has been an unwelcome begin to the five-year, $85M extension the right-hander inked in March 2021. McCullers continues to be owed $51M between 2024-26, and if he is ready to put his flexor issues behind him, there may be loads of time to raised make good on the Astros’ funding. After all, it’s also but to be seen precisely how a lot of the 2024 season McCullers may miss or whether or not or not he’ll have the ability to totally keep wholesome given all of the collected put on and tear on his arm lately.
