ASTROS RIGHTHANDER MCCULLERS TO START THE SEASON ON DISABLED LIST
Hinch won’t rush righty’s nursing of sore shoulder
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The decision was hardly a surprise, but it nonetheless stung Astros righthander Lance McCullers when he was informed Wednesday morning he will begin the season on the disabled list.
McCullers, who has an ailing right shoulder, was expected to start the third game of the season against the Yankees.
“It’s hard,” said Mc- Cullers, 22. “You want to pitch down the stretch, and you want to pitch for the playoffs, but at the same time, I want to pitch now. I want to break (camp) with the guys.
“I want to go to New York. I was hoping to make that start. I really wanted to pitch at home against those guys. It’s frustrating not being able to do that stuff.”
The Astros arrived at Osceola County Stadium
with veteran pitching depth after signing Doug Fister to a $7 million, oneyear deal on Jan. 28. Fister, Scott Feldman and Mike Fiers were expected to compete for the final two spots in the rotation behind 2015 Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, 19-game winner Collin McHugh and McCullers. Now all three F’s will begin the season in the rotation.
Fister is trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2015. Feldman is returning from the right shoulder sprain that ended his season on Sept. 1. Fiers, who threw a nohitter against the Dodgers last year, has thrown five scoreless innings over two starts this spring.
“We have a pretty good idea who our rotation is going to be,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “They have to answer the bell, so to speak, in the next three weeks. I’m very comfortable with our options.”
Veteran lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, who signed as a non-roster invitee this winter, provides insurance in case the Astros have another injury. He has given up only two runs over eight innings in three outings this spring. Righthander Michael Feliz, who will start a splitsquad game against the Blue Jays on Thursday, is one of the top young arms remaining in camp.
Righthanders Dan Straily and Brad Peacock are also options.
The baseball card factor
“I’m very comfortable with that depth that we have,” Hinch said. “But given the back of the baseball card of the other five guys, they certainly are the right combo at this point.
“We haven’t sorted out what order it’s going to go and how the rest of the spring is going to go. I was comfortable with our rotation before, and I was told we had one too many. Now I’m just as comfortable today.”
McCullers has been shut down since he felt shoulder soreness after his second live batting practice on March 6. No structural damage was revealed in the MRI he underwent Friday, but he isn’t sure when he will be cleared to start playing catch again.
Hinch is hopeful McCullers will start throwing bullpen sessions later this spring. The manager informed McCullers of the decision Wednesday in part to make sure he didn’t try to rush back.
McCullers had never thrown more than 1042⁄ innings as a pro until he threw a career-high 164 last year between Class AA Corpus Christi andthe Astros. He was 6-7 with a 3.22 ERA over 22 major league starts last year and was in line for the victory in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Royals, which would have put the Astros in the AL Championship Series had the bullpen not blown the lead. No structural damage
Although McCullers admitted his patience has already been exhausted, he finds optimism knowing that no structural damage was found on the MRI.
“It’s not concerning,” he said. “Everything’s fine. It’s just one of those things time has to heal. It’s frustrating because you’d want to be a little more specific, and you would want this day picked out and that date picked out and those types of things. In this situation, it’s not like that.”
The Astros must now wonder how long it will take to get their best young starter back.
“It’s really just rest and recovery, getting the soreness out,” McCullers said. “I’ve been feeling a lot better the last couple of days. I think they’re going to be taking it slow, though.”