McCullers Jr. and France injury updates, spring training dates revealed

Outside of the Christian Walker signing, the time since the winter meetings have been relatively quiet. We have seen a few deals for relievers, failed physicals, a couple of smaller deals for some bats and a division rival finally make a move. Houston is still looking for an outfield bat and contemplating a Ryan Pressly trade.

Taking a step back from the roster construction for 2025, we take a look at some recent news that has come out that should help the 2025 Astros dramatically.

Astros News: JP France and Lance McCullers are both on tract after arms surgeries

Lance McCullers has continuously battled through injuries over the last couple of years, having not thrown a pitch since October of 2022. The Astros pitcher had a surgery in June of 2023 to repair his right flexor tendon and address a bone spur issue. McCullers Jr. was hoping to join Houston as they made a strong push to overtake the Mariners for the division. However, a setback in his rehab would result in the team shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

Fast forward a few months and McCullers Jr. is still rehabbing but looks like he is nearing 100%. A trip over to his Instagram account should provide some hope as the righty has been throwing off a mound. Michael Schwab of The Juice Box Journal provided even more confidence in a post on X (formerly Twitter) stating, “This isn’t just light toss anymore, he’s getting his velocity up”.

McCullers Jr. returning to the Astros rotation would be massive addition to a group that was just decimated with injuries last year.

Another Astros pitcher provided a good update after suffering a season ending injury last year. The 2024 season was supposed be another solid year for JP France. The righty had broken out in 2023 and looked to establish himself as a key piece of the rotation moving forward.

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury saw him post a 7.46 ERA over just 25.1 innings, ending up with a demotion to Triple-A and getting shut down for the year with a torn right shoulder capsule (12–14-month recovery).

Luckily for France and the Astros, his recovery is right on track, putting him on pace to return sometime in July.

““I could keep cruising like I am right now and get out of West Palm in April, or I could have a setback or something and stay there until June,” he said. “You never know. I feel like the way it’s going right now, hopefully I’m looking more about the 12-month mark, so that will be me [back] in July. Hopefully that’s the case. There’s a fine line because it’s a shoulder surgery and you’re not trying to rush it back, either.””

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com

A July return would be great news for Houston. Hopefully the pitching staff can avoid injuries to the rotation like they suffered last year. For Houston and France’s sake, let’s hope his recovery is closer to that 12-month mark with no setbacks.

Astros 2025 Spring Training Dates to know

The offseason has been preparing Astros fans for the upcoming year. The unfortunate departures of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman were filled with the welcome additions of Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes. Next up comes spring training, where fans will get to see all of their new faces in game action.

For Houston, pitchers and catchers will report Thursday, February 13th with their first full squad workout coming just five days later, February 18th. Their team photo is scheduled for the morning of February 20th.