Pair of Houston Astros Stars Not Expected to Be Ready for Opening Day

It doesn't seem like the Houston Astros will have two of their stars available for Opening Day.

Sep 24, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros manager Joe Espada (19) sits on the bench before playing against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros seem to be set in their Opening Day rotation at the moment following the acquisition of Hayden Wesneski in the Kyle Tucker trade.

The right-hander has experience as both a starter and reliever, but general manager Dana Brown said they brought him in with the idea that he would be starting games for them in 2025.

With that, the Astros' five are Wesneski, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti.

Noticeably missing are two players who have been out of the picture for a while; Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia.

Both are recovering from their long-term injuries, with McCullers undergoing flexor tendon surgery and Garcia getting Tommy John surgery. Neither of them pitched in 2024, and only the latter appeared in 2023 for just six games.

Because of that, it's hard for Houston to count on them being a major part of this rotation, and when they do eventually return, it's not a given that either of them will be inserted back into the starting picture.

When might they be back?

That timeline continues to still be vague.

"Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are the two injured starters closest to a return, but it may be a long shot for either man to be ready for Opening Day. Manager Joe Espada did not sound optimistic at the winter meetings, during which he acknowledged that it is 'premature for me to speculate' on their availability early in the season," reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

That's been par for the course.

Garcia underwent his surgery in May 2024, so him not being ready for Opening Day makes sense because it takes a rough timeline of 12 months for a pitcher to fully recover from that operation.

McCullers is a bit more of a wild card.

His surgery came in June 2023, and when he was trying to make his return last year, he was shut down and didn't appear in a single contest.

Him not being available is certainly something to note, especially because 2022 was the last time he appeared in a Major League game.

Not pushing this duo to make the Opening Day roster seems to be the likely course of action.

The good news is, Rome gave some more information that states there has been no setback.

"Espada said Garcia and McCullers were progressing well in their comebacks from arm surgeries, but offered few other specifics on a timeline," the insider wrote.

This will continue to be something to monitor, but from the sound of it, the Astros won't have two of their key pitchers available for the start of the upcoming campaign.