Are you allowed to use things like HGH in MLB these days? And if not, why? I couldn’t imagine having to face ending my career at what, 31 or 32 when perfectly legal if somewhat experimental options to recover from injury existed.
Lets say Lance does not make it back. does insurance cover his salary? Does his salary still count towards luxury tax. I thought i saw that when Verlander was injured insurance paid for that. But, I Might be wrong
I was thinking the same thing, I thought there was insurance for things like this but maybe I miss remember
Feel bad for Lance. It's not like he wants to be hurt. Say what you want about him, but he helped the Astros win not one but two WS. He also LOVES HTown. Hopefully he can come back (not counting on it).
The team also knew this long before the news... Dana Brown pursuing a starting pitcher at the deadline wouldn't make sense if he expected all 3 of Verlander, Garcia, and McCullers to return by August.
If the Astros took out a policy then they should receive some money. However, that will not have any effect on the competitive balance tax amount. I suspect any injury insurance on McCullers had a pretty high premium so I doubt the net is all that high. Either way I wouldn’t expect that to factor in much if at all on how much the Astros spend on payroll.
Sometimes you can medically retire and still get paid. This was a big deal in regards to Strasburg recently. Prince Fielder had $96M remaining, though the team formally released him before official retirement.
I am toning down my optimism, but not giving up. They said no structural damage. He's going through rehab, pushing his arm like it hasn't been pushed since before the surgery, and nearly 2 years. Regaining the strength, and flexibility, along with general recovery isn't a straight linear path. I hope he is in the 2025 opening day rotation. Anything he gives in 2024 is gravy now but I hope to hear he is throwing again before August.
