The first day of Spring Training is meant to be the day when everyone says, “I’ve never been in better shape in my life,” and “I can’t wait for Opening Day,” and other such platitudes. At day one of Astros Spring Training in Palm Beach, Florida, however, one of the team’s longest tenured veterans sounded pretty down.
Lance McCullers, Jr. has spent the better part of the last three years dealing with injuries. He enters this camp in the final year of his six-year contract with the team and, without a massive season, likely his last.
In comments Monday morning, a reflective McCullers told gathered reporters that, in essence, whatever happens happens.
“I have no reservations about my future in baseball,” McCullers told the media. “I have two beautiful daughters. I have a beautiful wife. We’ve been married 10 years, together 16, 17 years, so if the future for me is to be home with them, I’ll be happy with that. I’ll be content with that, you know?”
He discussed how he still wants to play if he can be healthy and some of the steps he’s taking to make that happen, but he mentioned more than once going out on a high note with the Astros this season. Listening to him talk, he didn’t sound like a guy fired up to compete for a spot in the starting rotation.
The Astros have a complicated situation with McCullers. On one hand, if he were to be healthy, he could help the team out at the back end of the rotation. If he were willing, he might even be able to serve in a role in the bullpen.
However, if he were not to perform well or struggle with another injury, the pressure would be on the Astros to make a move and provide space for someone else, even if that meant releasing McCullers and swallowing the final $17 million of his contract. It wouldn’t be the first time the team has eaten poorly spent salary, but certainly owner Jim Crane has no desire to throw money way. And releasing McCullers doesn’t eliminate that money from their already bloated salary number.
With the Astros rather clumsy roster, some tough decisions will need to be made this spring. The attempts to trade either Isaac Paredes or Christian Walker has been all over the media for weeks. The number of players they have out of minor league options on the 40-man roster combined with some aging veterans and a player in Yordan Alvarez manager Joe Espada seems hellbent on keeping in the DH spot to protect him from injury makes for a very tough job for GM Dana Brown.
Coming into this spring is the most unsettled the Astros have been in quite some time. It’s ironic that McCullers would be a part of that discussion given he and Jose Altuve remain the longest tenured Astros and the only members of the 2017 World Series team.
A lot is changing around the Astros and McCullers may be the next domino to fall.