WHAT NOW?
How Astros spring training “speed bump” adds new twist to starting rotation
Feb 22, 2023, 2:41 pm
Lance McCullers won't be ready for Opening Day. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
Lance McCullers Jr. will not be ready to go for the Houston Astros on Opening Day. The veteran starting pitcher said on Wednesday he underwent an MRI and it revealed a small muscle strain that will sideline him for several weeks.
After undergoing Tommy John Surgery in 2018, which forced him to miss the entire 2019 season, and then missing most of Houston’s 2021 postseason run and a majority of the 2022 season with a strained flexor muscle, McCullers’ latest issue is considered to be minor, and should not hamper him from being in the rotation long-term, he said on Wednesday.
McCullers: “I’m not going to lie. It’s been a tough couple of days just having to come to the reality that I’m not going to be a part of the team to open the season and I’m going to have to undergo another rehab.” pic.twitter.com/aGsR6jZJ0D
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 22, 2023
Regardless of the severity of the injury, McCullers’ muscle strain will cause the Astros to have to shake things up with their starting rotation, at least to begin the season. Here is what it could look like.
Even before McCullers’ injury, Framber Valdez was likely going to be the Opening Day starter for the Astros. The questions begin behind him.
McCullers could have been Houston’s day two starter. The Astros still have plenty of options to choose from, but the edge could go to Cristian Javier, who recently signed his five-year extension earlier this month.
Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy, two players that have started games in the past for Houston, likely have locked down their positions as well. With McCullers’ injury, it likely also secures a spot for Hunter Brown in the starting rotation.
Prior to McCullers’ injuries, there were questions about whether Brown would be in the rotation, if Houston potentially went with a six-man starting rotation, or if the Astros moved Brown or another pitcher to the bullpen. That is no longer a question.
In what could be a silver lining, the injury likely means it will be a trial by fire for Brown, who started two regular season games for the Astros in 2022.
It also opens up an opportunity for other pitchers, including Forrest Whitley, who has yet to pitch a single inning in the majors, J.P. France, Shawn Dubin, and Brandon Bielak. All four players have a chance to be on Houston’s major league roster while McCullers is out.
All four players also started games in 2022 for the Astros’ Triple A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
That is something worth noting because on Houston’s current roster, only Ryne Stanek, Rafael Montero and Brandon Bielak are pitchers outside of Valdez, Javier, Urquidy, Garcia and Brown that have experience starting multiple games in a season at the MLB level.
For Stanek, they came in 2018 and 2019 for the Tampa Bay Rays, who were known for their bullpen games. Montero last started a game in 2017 for the New York Mets.
Losing a starting pitcher the caliber of McCullers to start the season is a significant loss, and in the pitcher’s own words, a frustrating one.
For now, the Astros have enough depth to absorb it for the start of the season. The biggest storyline to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is if it truly is just a minor injury for McCullers.
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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