McCullers defends lack of sign-stealing suspensions for Astros

Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. and his teammates are looking to put the 2017 sign-stealing scandal in the rearview mirror, but that will be easier said than done.

"There haven't been any more conversations about it here," McCullers told The Athletic's "Starkville" podcast with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville. "I know that I get tagged in 70,000 posts a day about it, but that's just life. ... Really and truly we are trying to move on as a group. I apologized for it. We as a group apologized for it. I stood there in my locker for 40 minutes during spring training and answered every question under the sun about it."

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly was recently suspended five games for throwing at or near Astros players during a recent game. Kelly later called Astros players snitches for their conduct during Major League Baseball's investigation into cheating allegations, asserting that Astros players gave information to the league to avoid punishment.

"There was only one snitch and that's the person (former Astros starter Mike Fiers) who spoke to The Athletic," McCullers said. "It is what it is. There's a big misconception that the players were given immunity in this investigation. To my understanding, the MLBPA and the MLB have an agreement in the CBA that says any sort of team investigations, the players will not be punished for. ... We were not negotiating for immunity like it has been said or portrayed that way. That is just a byproduct of the CBA that we all signed and agreed to, and the outcome of the investigation unfortunately fell at the feet of AJ (Hinch) and Jeff (Luhnow)."

McCullers also called Kelly's actions "unprofessional."

Despite the vitriol, the 26-year-old wishes fans could be in attendance regardless of whether they'd be cheering or booing.

"I've never been mad or salty at fans for yelling or booing - and there definitely would have been a lot of boos this year, that's for sure," McCullers said. "I just miss it. I miss people."

McCullers missed the 2019 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. In five starts this season, he's 2-1 with a 5.47 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. However, he was sharper over his two most recent appearances, allowing two runs on four hits with 12 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.