McCullers’ bullpen session positive
OAKLAND, Calif. — Lance McCullers Jr. threw off the mound in a bullpen session Monday afternoon at the Coliseum, the latest step in a progression that should result in his rejoining the Astros’ rotation this weekend in Seattle.
McCullers, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list June 12 because of lower back discomfort, said his bullpen session “felt normal.” He threw it as he would normally, both out of the windup and from the stretch. Alex Bregman stood in as a hitter.
“Signs are pointing toward the Seattle series as being the time where he can rejoin the rotation,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of McCullers. “That’s good news.”
Dallas Keuchel (neck discomfort) played catch Monday for the first time since he was scratched from his start in Kansas City on June 7. He wasn’t available for comment afterward. The test more telling of his progress will come when he throws off a mound.
“It’s very early in his progress,” Hinch said of Keuchel. “Playing catch is playing catch. The next step would be playing catch a little harder and a little further and then take steps toward getting on the mound.”
Charlie Morton (lat strain) came through his bullpen session Monday and remains in line to pitch two or three innings in his first rehab start with Class AAA Fresno on Thursday.
An audition for Gray tonight?
On Tuesday night, the Astros will get a firsthand look at Oakland Athletics righthander and potential trade target Sonny Gray, who has pitched inconsistently in his nine starts since returning from a lat strain.
The 27-year-old Gray, under club control through the 2019 season, has a lackluster 4.44 ERA through 522⁄3 innings this season, though the underlying stats suggest he has performed better than his ERA indicates. He has struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings as opposed to issuing 2.9 walks per nine, each better or in line with his career averages.
Given Gray’s pedigree — he has a career 3.50 ERA and an All-Star Game nod and finished third in the 2015 American League Cy Young Award voting — and years of arbitration eligibility remaining (two), the A’s are in position to command a hefty package before the July 31 trade deadline.
Even if the Astros are unwilling to part with touted outfield prospect Kyle Tucker, they have plenty of other talent in their farm system from which they could deal.
Top pitching prospect Francis Martes, who starts opposite Gray on Tuesday, and Class A starters Franklin Perez and Forrest Whitley are among the Astros’ most valuable young arms. Outfielder Derek Fisher, who in his five days with the Astros has looked major league ready, and Class A first baseman Yordan Alvarez are their best position-player chips aside from Tucker.
Though in-division blockbusters are often more difficult to pull off, it’s worth noting that Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and A’s executive vice president Billy Beane have matched up on four trades previously, including two involving Jed Lowrie and the July 2015 trade that sent Scott Kazmir to the Astros and Daniel Mengden and Jacob Nottingham to the A’s.
Odds and ends
Jose Altuve came into the week ranked third among major league position players in wins above replacement (3.2), according to FanGraphs’ version of the metric. Aaron Judge (4.4) and Paul Goldschmidt (3.5) were the only players ahead of him. … The Astros’ short-season Class A affiliate in the New YorkPenn League, the Tri-City ValleyCats, opened its season Monday in Norwich, Conn. Most of the roster is made up of young Latin American players getting their first exposure to an affiliate. Many of the Astros’ recent draftees will join Tri-City once they sign. … Kevin Eschenfelder will handle play-byplay duties on the Astros’ television broadcasts for this week’s seven-game road trip. Todd Kalas will return June 27.