Lance McCullers Jr. had yet to make an appearance for the Houston Astros in 2023, and now he won't at all.
The team announced Wednesday that McCullers underwent forearm surgery the day before and will miss the 2023 season entirely. The right-hander had a procedure to repair his right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur.
It's now the second season that goes down as a washout for McCullers. He also missed the 2019 season after Tommy John surgery.
McCullers originally injured the flexor tendon while pitching in Game 4 of the 2021 American League Division Series vs. the Chicago White Sox. The tendon was aggravated while throwing a bullpen session in February during spring training.
"After the injury happened in February, Lance worked his tail off to get back on the mound," Astros general manager Dana Brown said. "This guy is a warrior and did everything in his power to get back. But each time he built himself up to an increased pitch total off the mound, the pain would come back. It's unfortunate, but we look forward to him being back on the mound next season."
McCullers is 49-32 with a 3.48 ERA in 127 starts and three relief appearances over seven seasons.
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