Beyond playing catch, no McCullers timetable
Each day the Astros are home, rehabbing starter Lance McCullers arrives at Minute Maid Park and learns what the team’s training staff has planned for him that afternoon.
So far, in terms of pitching, it hasn’t advanced beyond playing catch. It remains unclear when the 22-year-old righthander will progress to throwing off a mound, a test of his elbow that will provide a better indicator of whether he can rejoin the rotation before the regular season ends Oct. 2.
“I feel good,” he said after playing catch Monday afternoon. “We’re just kind of checking boxes off the list right now, seeing where I’m at physically. As long as everything continues to go well, I’m sure we’ll continue to progress forward.”
McCullers hasn’t pitched in a game since prematurely exiting his Aug. 2 start with what was later deemed a sprained elbow. The Astros are guaranteed only 31 more games after Monday night’s series opener against the Athletics. Is there enough time on the 2016 schedule for McCullers to make it back?
“There’s no real timetable for these kinds of things,” he said. “It’s really kind of day in, day out, ‘How are you feeling? What kind of direction are we moving in? How many steps are we taking? Do we need to pull back? Do we need to push forward?’ ”
Manager A.J. Hinch said McCullers is “inching his way toward intensifying his throwing program.”
“But again, it’s baby steps with a tender arm,” Hinch said.