Make that 17 players on the IL now
Since joining the big leagues in 2015 with the Houston Astros, Lance McCullers Jr. has been known by Astros fans for a few things, one of them being that is getting hurt, and he is living up to his name yet again.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/qkkXdrfrdJ
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 22, 2025
This morning, the Astros announced that they are placing McCullers on the 15-day IL for a right finger blister, making him the 17th Astros player on the IL and the seventh starting pitcher. The team called up Nick Hernandez from Triple-A to take his roster spot.
He joins Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco, J.P. France, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and Hayden Wesneski on the IL of the most injury-ridden rotation in baseball.
Since his debut over 10 years ago, McCullers has had more than 20 starts four times in his career, hitting the 25 mark twice. He has also spent three seasons on the sidelines dealing with multiple different surgeries, including Tommy John.
McCullers started the 2025 season on the IL with a right foot strain, having not pitched since the 2022 World Series, and made his first start for the Astros on May 4th.
He is coming off an outing just a few days ago on July 19th where he went 2.2 innings in the Astros 7-6 loss to the Mariners, allowing four runs on five hits, moving his season ERA up to 6.90 in 11 starts.
Joe Espada said Lance McCullers Jr. has been dealing with the blister “for a little bit” and it flared up during his start against the Mariners. McCullers flew back to Houston this afternoon to be examined by team doctors.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 22, 2025
With McCullers down again, that leaves just Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez to lead the rotation as the only non-rookies. Behind them, the team will have to continue to rely on guys like Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon and Brandon Walters.