Houston Astros Activate Lance McCullers Jr. for Start Against Chicago Cubs

The Houston Astros activated Lance McCullers Jr. from the 15-day injured list so he could start Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs at Daikin Park.

To make room on the 26-man roster, the Astros optioned right-handed pitcher Nick Hernandez to Triple-A Sugar Land, per MLB.com.

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McCullers went on the IL on June 16 with a right foot sprain, retroactive to June 13. Saturday was the first day he was eligible to be activated.

After missing the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to arm issues, McCullers finally returned to the rotation on May 4 and has steadily moved back into a No. 3 role in the rotation behind Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

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Before the IL stint, he was 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in seven starts, with 39 strikeouts and 16 walks in 29.1 innings.

While he’s been on the IL, he’s watched the Astros build their lead in the American League West Division. Entering Saturday’s game with the Cubs, Houston has a 6.5 game lead on the Seattle Mariners and the second-best record in the American League.

Only the Detroit Tigers (51 wins) have more wins in the AL than Houston.

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McCullers has a 50-34 career record and broke in with Houston in 2015. He was part of both of their World Series championship teams in 2017 and 2022.

The Astros still have a starting rotation’s worth of pitchers on their injured list. Two of them will not be back this season. Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco both had Tommy John surgery earlier this season.

Four others are on the 60-day injured list, are on the mend and could play a role later this season. The closest is probably Spencer Arrighetti, who is working back from a broken right thumb. The others — J.P. France, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier — are working back from major shoulder or elbow injuries and could be ready at some point this season.

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