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Lance McCullers Jr. had better be careful. The Houston Astros now have a track record of just releasing players who fail to play up to the level that their contract warrants. Who knows how Dana Brown and Co. will handle a player who can't even play?
McCullers will now miss the rest of the 2024 season. The right-hander had been attempting to work his way back from an injury, but yet another setback in McCullers' quest to return this season forced Astros manager Joe Esapda to admit that 30-year-old is unlikely to return to the active roster.
This puts McCullers' future with the Astros in doubt and definitely cements the pitcher alongside Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero as one of the worst contracts the Astros' front office has agreed to in recent memory.
Latest Lance McCullers Jr. update reinforces his status as one of Astros’ worst contracts
McCullers is right smack-dab in the middle of a five-year contract extension worth $85 million that he signed prior to the start of the 2022 season. The deal is worth an average annual value of $17 million, and according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, is the fifth-highest paying contract on the books this season. McCullers' deal trails only Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Josh Hader.
When you add McCullers' salary into the equation with Abreu and Montero, the Astros are paying $48.7 million dollars for three players with a combined -2.5 fWAR. At least McCullers has bragging rights over the other two — he didn't cause the number to go any lower.
All joking aside, this is exactly why the Astros find themselves in a pickle. Houston's front office made unwise additions to the roster in free agency and handed out illogical extensions, and now the Astros have millions of dollars tied up in unproductive assets.
After missing all of last season as well, McCullers has thrown exactly 47.2 innings since signing his extension prior to 2022. This latest setback certainly brings next year's status into question as well, and firmly entrenches McCullers' contract as one of the worst in franchise history.