With Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.'s comeback tour hitting an injury snag, the club is going to have to take a long, hard look at how it deploys him moving forward once he returns from his blister issue.
Once considered a key to Houston's playoff hopes, the right-hander who succumbed to devastating injuries during the 2022 campaign and had his return to action delayed until 2025 due to numerous setbacks, is a big reason why starting pitching is shooting up their trade deadline shopping list.
With a 6.90 ERA through 11 starts, McCullers has proven that he cannot be counted on, and the blister issue that landed him on the injured list isn't the root cause of his struggles.