Two days ago, the Houston Astros received what had to be their best news of the spring when World Series pitching hero Lance McCullers Jr. threw his first competitive pitches in 868 days when the 31-year-old took the mound against the Washington Nationals in a Grapefruit League game at the Astros home of CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.
The 31-year-old McCullers, who has pitched in three separate World Series for the Astros, underwent surgery to replace the flexor tendon in his pitching elbow in June 2023, after pitching the 2022 season with the injury he suffered in the 2021 postseason. He last set foot on a Major League mound in Game 3 of the 2022 World Series, but he returned on Tuesday to throw a single inning, just 13 pitches, without allowing a hit or a run in four batters.
Rehabbing Starter Hit With New Setback
That was the good news. The bad news for the Astros came on Thursday when another comebacking pitcher, 28-year-old Luis Garcia â who was signed by Houston out of Bolivar, Venezuela, in 2017 for a mere $20,000 bonus â was ruled out of throwing a batting practice session when he reported experiencing soreness in his right elbow.
Garcia had Tommy John surgery in May, 2023, after throwing only 27 innings in six games that year. Garcia missed 2024 completely as he attempted to rehab from the surgery. The Astros were planning on Garcia’s return to the mound in May, providing the Houston pitching staff with additional depth, along with McCullers who is expected to be back pitching in games by April or May.
The elbow soreness that has now shut down Garcia with no date to restart baseball activities is yer another setback in the 2022 15-game winner’s attempt to make his way back from Tommy John. He threw 2 2/3 innings in a minor league rehab assignment last summer but despite touching 94 mph with his fastball, was unable to continue his rehab.
The Astros stick to a policy of giving out as little detail on player injuries as possible, so the reason why Garcia’s 2024 rehab program was terminated has not been made public. Other than the report of discomfort in his elbow, the Astros have not released any detail on Garcia’s latest setback, or how severe they expect it to be.
Manager Joe Espada said that Garcia will be examined by team doctors sometime soon.
Astros Pitching Depth Thinned by Surgeries
Garcia’s path to the big leagues was a quick one for an international free agent signing. During the 2020 pandemic-truncated season, the six-foot-one, 248-pound righty leaped all the way from the Single-A minor leagues to the Major League club. Over the following two seasons he was one of Houston’s most reliable pitchers, making 28 starts and two relief appearances in 2021 and another 28 starts in 2022. The Astros played in the World Series both seasons, losing to the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.
In those two postseasons, Garcia made seven appearances, starting six games with a 2-4 record.
The Astros appear to be entering 2025 with a strong starting rotation headlined by 31-year-old lefty Framber Valdez, who has won 55 games, including seven complete games, over the past four seasons while losing only 30.
But injuries have wreaked havoc on Houston’s starting depth. In addition to McCullers and Garcia, starters J.P. France and Christian Javier both remain out as they recover from shoulder and Tommy John surgeries, respectively.
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