The Houston Astros let two of their starting pitchers walk in free agency this winter.
Justin Verlander, at 42 years old and coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, always seemed to be a likely departure. But not re-signing Yusei Kikuchi after giving up a talent-rich prospect package to land him ahead of the trade deadline was interesting since he put together an incredible stretch with the team.
But those decisions were made largely because the Astros are confident about who they have in place and who could be returning.
Hunter Brown looked like the future ace he was billed to be as a prospect, and him paired with Framber Valdez at the top of their rotation is a formidable one-two punch. Spencer Arrighetti also showed well at times during his rookie season in 2024, so he’s another candidate who could take a major step forward.
However, it’s the impending returns of Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. that likely gave the front office confidence to let Verlander and Kikuchi sign elsewhere.
Fans might be hesitant to get their hopes up about anything related to McCullers.
He hasn’t pitched since 2022, and even then he only appeared in eight games during the regular season. He’s been recovering from surgery he underwent in June 2023 to repair the torn flexor tendon in his right arm and to remove a bone spur.
There was some hope he would return last year, but that didn’t happen.
Instead, Houston opted to be cautious with him, making sure he was ready to throw again so he wouldn’t suffer another setback that would keep him out for even more time.
It seems like that is paying off.
McCullers just reached an important milestone in his journey to returning, facing live batters in camp on Saturday and looking sharp when doing so, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
“McCullers threw 20 pitches, hitting 94.7 mph with his fastball while mixing in his curveball, sinker and changeup,” the insider reported.
Getting back on the mound in a live setting is the next step before returning to game action.
McTaggart notes the pitcher’s rehab program calls for at least three live batting practice sessions, so him getting to this stage is a great sign when it comes to him being activated for the upcoming season.
McCullers knows it, too.
“Today’s a pretty good indication the arm can handle the workload, can handle the velo. I probably have a little bit more gas in there as I get going. To be able to throw sliders with freedom and curveballs with freedom and worry about executing fastballs [on] each side of the plate and have my mind there vs. having my mind on, ‘How’s the elbow feeling?’ Today is a big step for me,” he said.
No one quite knows what to expect from the 2017 All-Star and seventh-place AL Cy Young finisher in 2021.
He’s been off the mound too long for anyone to suggest with confidence how he’ll perform.
But having McCullers back in the mix is better than not having him, so this milestone is an important one when it comes to the star pitcher making his return.