The Astros have right -handed Lance McCullers Jr. placed on the 15-day wounded list because of the right-handness, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. It is unclear how serious this hand injury is. McCullers goes to Houston for further evaluation. Left -hand trade Colton Gordon has been recalled in the corresponding active schedule movement. Chandler Rome of athletics First noted that McCullers was not mentioned on the club’s line -up card, but Gordon was.
Short -term impact from Lance McCullers JR.’s injury
In the short term it is not a huge blow to the Astros, because MCCullers has not developed into an important part of their 2025 selection. This year he returned to De Heuvel after missing almost three years because of elbow problems. He only made eight performances in 2022 and then missed all 2023 and 2024.
Although he and the Astros were certainly very happy to get him back on the hill this year, he was unable to return to his earlier performance level. This season he threw 52 1/3 innings for the club, which means that 6.88 earned points per nine. His strike output of 21.8% and a running speed of 14.6% are both insufficient figures. He returned to the IL in June because of a right foot disease and again in July because of a blister, where both stints were fairly short.
A few weeks ago, manager Joe Espada said that McCullers would throw out of the bullpen, but it would be for the “short term” and “just change things”. Since then he has registered four innings on three performances, making three earned points on six hits, four free runs and three strikeouts are possible. The Astros are in a tight play -off race and have lost many boys to the IL, but with the way McCullers threw, it is not a huge blow to be without him.
Lance McCullers Jr. get back on the right track to help Houston Astros?
For the long term, however, this will contribute to the questions about his ability to get back on the right track in the future. His fastball was only an average of 91.8 miles per hour this year, more than two signs of his peak. The multiple il -stints may have prevented him from being completely in a groove, but they also contribute to the disturbing feeling that he cannot really stay healthy. Even before his recent multi -year tone in the wilderness, he had difficulty staying on the field. He only thrown at least 130 innings in a Major League season and he never hit 165.
The tariff statistics were good enough that the Astros signed him for an extension of five years, $ 85 million for the 2022-2026 seasons. He will earn $ 17 million next year in the last campaign of that pact.
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