The Houston Astros have dealt with starting pitching injuries all season long. Pitchers Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown have been the only two arms the Astros could rely on throughout the season with many others coming in and out of the starting rotation.
One of those arms has been Lance McCullers Jr., who could return to the rotation soon. McCullers has been sidelined since July 19 with a blister, but that's not the only injury he's dealt with.
McCullers began the season late due to his recovery from flexor tendon surgery, which kept him out of all of 2023 and 2024. He made his season debut, and first appearance since the 2022 World Series on May 4 against the Chicago White Sox, but only lasted seven starts before he suffered a foot strain.
That caused McCullers to miss another couple weeks before he managed four more starts and his blister occurred. It's been a long road back to baseball for the hometown favorite, and 2025 hasn't made it any easier on him.
However, after a positive rehab start on Friday night for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, McCullers may be ready to rejoin the Astros once again.
McCullers threw five innings, and gave up one run on four hits, a walk and struck out five batters on 80 pitches. The Astros' starter threw 46 strikes and managed six whiffs, according to Michael Schwab, which is a positive sign that his pitches were working the way he wanted them to.
Lance McCullers line tonight for Sugar Land:
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) August 16, 2025
5 IP | 4 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 2 BB | 5 K
He threw 80 pitches, 46 for strikes. Topped out at 92.5 MPH. #Astros pic.twitter.com/3YyPuN1SVv
McCullers' next start will either be one last rehab appearance or he'll join the Astros. But, with the starter reaching 80 pitches and doing so relatively efficiently with success, McCullers could see his next start be with the Astros.
The Astros' starting rotation could get crowded soon, as pitchers J.P. France and Luis Garcia are trending in a positive direction to join the rotation as well. A Houston rotation that's been depleted all year long could finally be getting its star-power back and will force competition to see who gets to stay.
The Astros starting rotation could consist of Valdez, Brown, Javier, Arrighetti, McCullers, Garcia and France soon, and that doesn't account for Jason Alexander, who's put together a couple strong starts for Houston lately.
However, that leaves seven or eight pitchers for only five or six potential spots. The Astros will have some decisions to make, but it's a good problem to have.