The Houston Astros announced on Wednesday that starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. of Tampa, Florida would be out for the rest of the season with forearm surgery according to the Associated Press. McCullers has not pitched the entire 2022 Major League Baseball season because of an issue with a tendon in his right forearm. In addition to repairing the tendon, McCullers will have a bone spur removed.
McCullers Jr. is not the only Astros player out long term. Designated hitter Yordan Alvarez of Las Tunas, Cuba will be out one month with an oblique strain. Both injuries were confirmed by Astros general manager Dana Brown.
Lance McCullers Jr.
McCullers has spent seven seasons with the Astros since 2015. He was an All-Star in 2017, and was on the Astros teams that won the World Series in 2017 and 2022. Last season, McCullers pitched in eight games during the regular season and had a record of four wins and two losses with an earned run average of 2.27. In 47 2/3 innings pitched, he gave up 37 hits and 12 earned runs, to go along with 50 strikeouts and 22 walks, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.24.
Control was a problem for McCullers in the past. He led the Major Leagues with 71 walks during the 2021 regular season despite having a solid win/loss record of 13 wins and five losses. When McCullers Jr. was an American League All-Star in 2017, he had a record of seven wins and four losses with an earned run average of 4.25. With the loss of McCullers Jr., the Astros will have a starting rotation of Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Brandon Bielak.
Yordan Alvarez
The loss of Alvarez is a significant one for the Astros’s offense. It was just last season he was an American League All-Star, and batted .306 with 37 home runs and 97 runs batted in. This season, Alvarez batted .277 with 17 home runs and 55 runs batted in. During 57 games, 202 at bats, and 242 plate appearances, he has scored 41 runs, and had 56 hits, 12 doubles, 32 walks, 119 total bases, two sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .388 and a slugging percentage of .589. The sacrifice flies came in an 8-2 Astros win over the Detroit Tigers on April 5, and in a 3-2 Astros win over the Oakland Athletics on May 20.
Second in the American League West
Houston is at 39 wins and 29 losses. They are three and a half games back of the first place Texas Rangers and have the second Wildcard Spot in the American League.
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