Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is set to undergo an MRI on his injured right forearm, as his long-awaited return to the team's rotation is likely to be pushed back further.
McCullers had been slowly progressing from a strained right forearm muscle that he suffered while pitching in the bullpen during the early days of Spring Training in February.
An MRI performed after the injury showed no structural damage. The MRI was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed McCullers' Tommy John surgery in 2018.
However, despite Lance McCullers Jr. himself describing the injury as a "very low grade" strain at the time, he has remained on the outside looking in as the Houston Astros have now played more than two months of the MLB season.
Despite being a very talented pitcher when he actually plays, McCullers has had an injury-riddled seven-year major league career. He missed the majority of the team's 2022 World Series-winning season with a strained right flexor tendon.
Lance McCullers Jr. has long teased Houston Astros fans with superb performances, only to be shut down for stretches of the season.
In seven MLB seasons, he has a 3.48 ERA and 800 strikeouts, but just a 49-32 record due to his extended absences from the rotation.
Many Astros fans are ready to throw in the towel.
At first, it wasn't thought that McCullers' current injury was really that big of a deal. Even the pitcher himself assumed it was just a matter of going too hard too soon. He told reporters in February:
"They were hesitant to even call it a strain. It wasn’t even a Grade 1 or anything like that. I threw that bullpen and basically maybe too much intensity here at camp. Just maybe did a little bit too much, too soon. I wasn’t ready for it, I guess. I thought I was, but I guess I wasn’t."
But with another MRI suddenly scheduled, no one knows when McCullers will pitch for Houston again — if ever.
McCullers is a well-liked presence in the Astros clubhouse. In spite of his injuries, he is one of the team's biggest cheerleaders in the dugout.
With Lance McCullers' future in doubt, the Houston Astros may have to turn to the trade market this summer
With the Astros lagging behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West standings, Houston may have to bolster its rotation via trade if McCullers is unable to go this season.