Lance

McCullers Jr.

Brown says both are throwing and looking good, for what little that’s worth. Garcia suffered setbacks in his attempt to return from Tommy John surgery last season, and McCullers hasn’t pitched in games since 2022 because of his own elbow woes. They’ll apparently be put on pace for April returns.

Both Garcia and McCullers underwent surgery and missed the entirety of the 2024 season. There has been some thought that Garcia would be on track to start the season in the rotation since he will be almost 21 months removed from surgery on opening day, but this report pours some cold water on that. It’s too early to tell for sure, but it seems like the Astros may be comfortable going into the season with a rotation of Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti, and Hayden Wesneski and then bring Garcia and McCullers along in the middle of the season, or if Wesneski can’t stick as a starter.

McCullers missed all of the last two seasons with injury, but it’s at least a positive sign that he’s able to throw in the offseason. When healthy he’s shown the ability to be an effective option, but there’s just too much risk in his profile to make him someone to target in fantasy at this stage of his career.

McCullers hasn’t been able to throw a pitch in an MLB game since 2022, and suffered another setback in early July with renewed arm discomfort. The right-hander will attempt to get back on the mound in 2025, but it’s very possible his days of fantasy relevance are over.

It’s yet another setback for McCullers as he continues to work his way back from last year’s surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm. The injury-plagued 30-year-old righty hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch since the 2022 campaign and has been shut down again after his arm wasn’t responding well between throwing sessions. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll make it back to Houston in the second half. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll ever make an impact for fantasy purposes ever again.

The Astros are going to continue to take every precaution as they’re ramping him up, but the fact that he’s back on the bump is obviously an encouraging sign for the 30-year-old right-hander. Expect that he’ll repeat the process many times before he’s cleared to start facing live hitters. There’s still no clear timetable for a potential return to the big league rotation.

Both pitchers are on the 60-day IL and are unlikely to return before June, but it’s good to see that they are beginning their throwing programs. Of course, there’s a long way to go between now and facing live hitters, but the Astros would love to have them back and healthy this summer.

It’s a step in the right direction for McCullers as he attempts to make it back to Houston’s starting rotation mix sometime around midseason. The 30-year-old righty should be ready to face hitters at some point next month.

McCullers hopes to return to baseball sometime in July as he continues to recover from surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and also remove a bone spur from his elbow. Fantasy managers should wait to hear more news about his return down the road and use another a roster spot for someone that can help early in the season.

McCullers Jr. added that he’s progressed to flat-ground throwing up to 80 feet. There’s still a long way to go in his recovery process from last year’s surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and also remove a bone spur from his elbow, but he appears to be on track to return to Houston’s pitching mix sometime in the summer. Given his lengthy injury history, fantasy managers should wait and see how his stuff bounces back before committing a roster spot sometime around midseason.