Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. won't return to the roster for the World Series, he said on Monday, because of the forearm injury that kept him out of the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox.
The type of strain McCullers has typically includes a six-to-eight week timeline before picking up a baseball, he said. McCullers was pulled from Houston's ALDS-clinching win against the White Sox on Oct. 12 after four innings with forearm discomfort.
"We remained hopeful, we tried to push it as far as we could but just couldn’t make it back to throwing," he said.
The 28-year-old had his best season as a pro in 2021, throwing a career-high 162 1/3 innings and recording a career-best 3.16 ERA. He led the Astros in wins and strikeouts in the regular season.
McCullers was the Game 7 starter for the Astros when they won the World Series in 2017, throwing 2 1/3 shutout innings against the Dodgers. He has a 2.83 ERA in 57 1/3 career postseason innings.
Houston hosts the Braves in Game 1 on Tuesday.
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Was this expected?
Jake Kaplan, Astros beat writer: The Astros (or in this case, McCullers himself) publicly ruling McCullers out for the World Series was merely a formality at this point, as he still has not yet been cleared to resume even throwing after sustaining his forearm strain in Game 4 of the ALDS.
He’s expected to be healthy and ready to go for spring training, but the timing of the injury spoiled his short-term availability for the ALCS and World Series.
What will Houston's pitching rotation look like?
Kaplan: The Astros will start Framber Valdez in Game 1 and presumably in Game 5, if necessary. They face a decision between José Urquidy and Luis Garcia for Game 2, and whoever among those two doesn't pitch in Game 2 is expected to start Game 3.
Their Game 4 plan is unclear, but Zack Greinke as an opener (like in the ALCS) is an option.