Houston Astros Starter McCullers Jr. Out For Season Following Surgery

The Houston Astros will be without starter Lance McCullers Jr. following season-ending surgery.

Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros made an official announcement on the status of pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday afternoon, and unfortunately the future looks bleak for the veteran righty.

McCullers' MRI revealed further inflammation, and underwent flexor tendon surgery on Tuesday evening, knocking him out for the entire 2023 MLB season.

The Astros are hoping to have McCullers back and healthy by the 2024 season, as long as his rehabilitation progresses as planned.

The veteran right-hander was originally expected to be a part of an explosive starting rotation this season, but numerous setbacks to multiple pitchers have completely derailed those plans.

After injuring himself in a spring training bullpen session, it appeared as though McCullers would be back with the club by mid-May until another setback pushed back his return.

Ultimately, the Astros would decide to send McCullers back to team doctors for further evaluation, leading to another MRI and a second surgery.

Following his first Tommy John surgery that knocked him out of the 2019 season, McCullers battled back and pitched relatively well in both 2020 and 2021.

He missed part of the 2022 season due to injury and pitched the second half of that season -- the last time he was on the mound for the Astros.

McCullers didn't throw a single pitch for Houston in 2023 while posting a 4-2 record with a 2.27 ERA, 50 strikeouts and a 1.24 WHIP in 2022.

Over his entire career, McCullers has a 49-32 record over 130 games (718.2 innings pitched) with a 3.48 ERA, 800 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP.

More From SI's Inside The Astros:

• Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Houston Astros?
• Mariners Fans Inexplicably Outraged Following Houston Astros' Social Media Post About Sweep
• Report: Former Astros Pitcher Fiers' Contract Terminated By CPBL Club
• Six Houston Astros Declared Free Agents
• Watch: Yordan Álvarez's Home Run Wins Astros World Series
• Lucas Giolito Claims All Teams Were Cheating in 2017
• Dusty Baker Makes His Thoughts Known on Bonds and Judge Records
• Is it Time to Move on From the Houston Astros Cheating Scandal?
• Is There Any Hope for an Aging Yuli Gurriel?
• Astros' Álvarez Stopped Striking Out and Became the Best Hitter in Baseball

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Astros on Twitter @InsideAstros!