MLB Rumors: Astros get troubling update on Lance McCullers Jr.

On the whole, things have been going well for the Houston Astros since an inauspicious start to the 2023 season. They still aren't atop the AL West with the Rangers continuing to roll, but they are just two games back at 31-21, a record bested in MLB outside of the ridiculous AL East only by Texas, the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Unfortunately, though, their rotation got an unfortunate update regarding veteran starter Lance McCullers Jr. as he tries to make his way to the roster after being put on the IL to start the year after experiencing forearm tightness and discomfort in the spring.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported on Monday that Astros manager Dusty Baker said McCullers has suffered a setback and is no longer throwing off the mound after throwing bullpen sessions earlier this month.

There is something to be said for the Astros taking it slow with the 29-year-old who has a relatively tough injury history in his still-young career in hopes that McCullers can get right. However, that doesn't make his potential return being delayed further now sting any less.

Despite the success the reigning World Series champs have enjoyed this season, their pitching depth is being tested with Luis Garcia out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Jose Urquidy still on the IL and just now beginning to throw off of flat ground.

If the Astros keep playing as they have, simply getting McCullers back later in the year to get into form and then help with a postseason run would be the most important part of the equation. Having said that, it's a big ask of the pitching staff to continue playing at the level they have despite being down three regular starters. As such, the hope is that this setback is minor and that getting him to 100% happens sooner rather than later.

MLB Rumors: Shohei Ohtani staying in LA makes 'too much sense', just not with Angels

Even despite being over .500 for the season and 6-4 over their last 10 games, the Los Angeles Angels seem to be falling farther out of contention as May starts to come to a close. They are six games back in the NL West race after a recent surge from the Mariners pushed the Halos to fourth place in the division and are even 3.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot in the American League.

And while that might be what Angels fans have frustratedly grown accustomed to, the fact of the matter is it could be more costly than ever this year thanks to Shohei Ohtani.

The rub entering the 2023 season was that, if the Angels aren't contending, then it's all the more likely that Ohtani would be traded ahead of the deadline or, perhaps more likely, that he'll be gone this offseason as he hits free agency.

But one MLB executive believes staying in Los Angeles "makes too much sense". Unfortunately for Angels fans, the exec was talking about the other LA team, the Dodgers.

ESPN insider Buster Olney (subscription required) surveyed several MLB execs about Shohei Ohtani and his looming free agency, with one saying that the Dodgers' history with promoting stars, spending big on the open market, and being in Los Angeles all lead to them being an ideal landing spot for the two-way Japanese superstar.

Now, this isn't the first time the Ohtani-Dodgers match has been made. However, it's one thing for rumors and pundits to make that connection; it's another entirely for an executive to put that out there, someone involved with the inner-workings of the league from the front office level. That's notable, too be sure.

Yes, that might mean that Angels fans are getting set up to still have a front-row seat to immense pain of losing a generational talent. But the business of baseball can be a harsh dose of reality, which is exactly what Ohtani on the Dodgers would be.

MLB Rumors: Cardinals trade chip Tyler O'Neill might not be available to deal

It seemed for a while like the St. Louis Cardinals might be rebounding from their apocalyptically bad start to the season, but things have leveled off a tad of late. They still were seven games under .500 entering Memorial Day and had gone just 5-5 over the last 10 games. However, with the rest of the NL Central floundering too, they'd closed the gap in the division to just five games.

Despite how unattractive the overall record might look, things still appear to be trending toward the Cardinals making a move at the MLB Trade Deadline to try and upgrade the roster, most likely the starting rotation that has plagued the club for much of the year.

That might be a bit more difficult, or at least trickier, to pull off with the way things are going with Tyler O'Neill, though.

O'Neill was placed on the IL in early May with lingering lower-back pain and discomfort, but his return has been delayed already and is now even seemingly more so. Cardinals insider Derrick Goold reported that the team is still looking for answers as the pain has not gone away despite rest and treatment, noting that O'Neill took swings off of a tee while the club was away from St. Louis recently and the back "did not respond well".

That's particularly trick for the Cardinals in relation to the trade deadline because, simply, O'Neill figured to be one of the biggest trade chips and assets the club has. With an abundance of outfield depth to work with, they could ship off a player of O'Neill's caliber and not necessarily feel hugely adverse effects.

With O'Neill's mysterious and increasingly lengthy recovery, though, that could depress his value to where he's no longer the same level of trade asset for St. Louis. In turn, that could change the math of if they want to deal a different outfielder — which they could still do and retain quality overall depth — to maximize their return in a trade or if they'd want to change the caliber of players being targeted and still try to deal O'Neill.

Things are fluid, as always, with injuries. But the trends right now suggest that O'Neill's situation could change the direction of the Cardinals' trade deadline plans.