The Lance McCullers Jr. Situation

Players have officially made their way to West Palm and the media is getting the answers to all their burning offseason questions. Peering through the haze of trade and extension talk, the player media availability that struck me the most was Lance McCullers Jr.’s. A somberly confident McCullers expressed his desire to finish out this year and be a productive member of this team. I’m not a professional at reading body language by any stretch of the imagination, but if I were to guess, that was a man that is nearing the end of his baseball days. You can’t really blame him either. Injuries have nagged him since 2022 and, when he has been healthy, he hasn’t been the most productive. There is a lot of chatter online right now about what the Astros should do with him - my personal opinion is that they should give him every opportunity to be a starter for this team. He is a leader, he’s worked his ass off to rehab, and, at one point, was the future ace of this staff. Y’all remember when he said “bury me in the H”? That’ll make a grown man cry in Houston pride.

Who knows if this will all work out. This could end in him getting shelled in Spring Training and being cut loose. It could end with him being a serviceable starter this year for the team. Personally, it doesn’t really matter. Lance McCullers Jr. is an Astros legend. The 24 straight curveballs in the 2017 ALCS and the World Series Game 7 start alone would make him a legend. When you add his leadership, the determination in the face of nagging injuries just to dawn that Houston across his chest again, and the world-class representation of the organization that he has always been - LMJ should and will be remembered as a legend.

Cheers to many more LMJ Days. Bury me in the H.