Lance McCullers threats, explained: Why Houston police are investigating social media remarks towards Astros pitcher

Lance McCullers Jr. has had a difficult time staying on the field, as he missed two full seasons before returning to the mound on May 4. After a difficult second start to the season, the Astros starter faced a large amount of criticism that crossed the line.

McCullers allowed seven runs in the first inning against the Reds before leaving the game, and he revealed after the game that fans sent him death threats for his performance. The veteran starter has been with the Astros for his entire career and was part of both Astros’ World Series championship teams in 2017 and 2022.

As a result, what happened to McCullers has made its way all the way up to law enforcement. Here are the details of what happened to McCullers and what that means moving forward.

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Lance McCullers threats, explained

In just his second start of the season, Lance McCullers struggled against the Reds on Saturday, allowing seven runs while just getting one out before getting pulled from the game. However, after his start, Astros fans sent death threats to McCullers and his family on social media amid his poor performance.

“It’s been a tough evening,” McCullers said after the game. “I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports. But threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with.”

Additionally, Astros manager Joe Espada came to McCullers’ defense in his postgame press conference on Saturday.

“It’s very unfortunate, that Lance McCullers, that there are people that are threatening his life and the life kids because of his performance,” Espada said. “It really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this.”

Awful situation in Houston following the Reds 13-9 win:

Astros manager Joe Espada said there were disturbing threats were made against Lance McCullers Jr.’s family and life after his start tonight.pic.twitter.com/OSVGnQQfRZ

— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) May 11, 2025

McCullers hadn’t pitched in a game since the 2022 World Series due to a variety of injuries, and he made his season debut on May 4. Espada stressed that, because McCullers was away from the game for so long, it will take time for him to get into a rhythm.

On Monday, the Houston Police Department announced that it was investigating the death threats to McCullers, but nobody has been arrested. 

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What happened to Lance McCullers? 

After pitching 47.2 innings in the 2022 regular season and 15 in that postseason, he had surgery to repair a flexor tendon in his right arm and to remove bone spurs in his elbow. That surgery meant that he would miss the entire 2023 season.

However, McCullers dealt with complications during his rehab, as he was shut down in August due to pain in his right elbow. This year, McCullers returned to make four rehab starts in April before making his season debut in May.

McCullers has an extensive injury history, as he’s only surpassed 130 innings in a season once in his career. The 31-year-old has missed three full seasons in his career, as he never appeared in a game during the 2019, 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Lance McCullers stats