Houston Astros Star No Longer Expected to Pitch This Season

The Houston Astros will no longer have their star pitcher in the mix down the stretch of this season.

Oct 19, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) looks on during warmups before game one of the ALCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the offseason, the Houston Astros were prepared to get back two of their injured starting pitchers at some point after the All-Star break.

Knowing this was one of the reasons why the front office wasn't aggressive in the free agency market trying to add starters, instead opting to grab a backup catcher and land Josh Hader.

Unfortunately, it now doesn't seem like Lance McCullers Jr. will pitch for the Astros this season after all.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, manager Joe Espada said its "safe to say" the oft-injured right-hander will not pitch this year.

That is a huge blow to Houston and their hopes of not only winning the World Series, but even winning their division as the Seattle Mariners aggressively attacked the trade deadline and massively upgraded their roster.

This news might not be surprising to the franchise as a whole, though. There have been rumors about setbacks during his rehab process throughout the year, and based on his past injury history, the organization might have decided it was best to just shut him down.

If McCullers doesn't pitch this season like expected, then he will now be two years removed from the last time he was on a Major League mound after he underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm and also remove a bone spur in June 2023.

When healthy, he's been an important piece for this team.

In his first four MLB seasons, three of them he finished with an ERA below 4.00 and was an All-Star when the Astros won the World Series in 2017.