HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Astros manager Joe Espada said on Sunday "it's safe to say" Lance McCullers Jr will not pitch for the team in 2024, which will keep him off the field for a second consecutive season.
"It'd be almost too much to ask for him to ramp up and get him back this season," Espada said. "Everything is moving in the right direction, but just where we're at right now and the number of games, I think that's where we're at."
McCullers underwent surgery to repair his flexor tendon and remove a bone spur from his elbow last June, and the expectation was that he'd be able to rejoin the Astros rotation after the All-Star Break. He progressed to throwing bullpens, but Espada said he has been shut down from throwing on July 9.
Astros general manager Dana Brown said after the trade deadline he hoped McCullers could pitch out of the bullpen in September.
McCullers, 30, hasn't pitched since game three of the 2022 World Series. He is in the third season of a five-year $85 million extension that he signed before the 2021 season when he finished seventh in Cy Young voting.
A forearm strain suffered during the 2021 ALDS against the White Sox cost him the first four months of the 2022 season, but he finished with a 2.27 ERA in eight starts upon returning.
"We all want him to be out there for us," Espada said. "It's frustrating because I've seen how hard he's worked to try to get back. I know the contribution he's made (for) so many years. He's part of the family. He's a big part of the things that we have accomplished."
