Out All Season, Astros Starter To Begin Rehab Assignment

It's been a long time coming. After being shut down during the 2021 postseason with a flexor tendon forearm strain, and a long recovery ever since, Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers will be starting a rehab assignment this week.

MLB source: Lance McCullers Jr (@lmccullers43) will make his first rehab start in his process to return to the @astros rotation Friday in San Antonio for the Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks ). Lance is scheduled to work two innings.

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 20, 2022

His process to return to the Astros rotation takes a big step on Friday when he takes the mound for two innings for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. 

The 28-year-old threw two simulated innings this past weekend, setting him up for this next step. He was originally expected to be ready for Opening Day, but the recovery has gone much slower than expected. 

McCullers would become the 7th starting pitcher available for the Astros, joining an already dominant rotation including Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Christian Javier, Jake Odorizzi and Jose Urquidy. That group has the 2nd best ERA in baseball.

Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports