Lance McCullers Placed on 10-Day DL by Astros with Back Injury

Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers is headed to the disabled list due to lower back discomfort, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. 

Joe Musgrove will be activated in his return from a shoulder injury.

The injury report is a familiar space for McCullers—who landed on the 15-day disabled list in early August 2016 with right elbow soreness. As a result, he didn't make an appearance past Aug. 2 last season as the Astros opted to play it safe when it came to his long-term health. 

Because of nagging injuries, McCullers didn't have a big opportunity to make substantial strides statistically a season ago. However, McCullers was still able to go 6-5 with a 3.22 ERA, 1.543 WHIP and stellar 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Now 13 starts into the 2017 season, the 23-year-old is 6-1 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.057 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. 

The Astros entered the season with great pitching depth to survive an absence of someone like McCullers, but injuries have taken a toll on the rotation. Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are already on the DL, leaving few reliable players on the roster.

Musgrove and Mike Fiers will have to be the ones carrying the rotation until the team's top pitchers can return to the field.