Brewers DFA McCullers Days After Astros Trade
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Lance McCullers Jr. was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers less than two weeks after they acquired him from the Houston Astros on July 15.
- The move came a day after McCullers walked four batters in 1⅔ innings of relief in an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies, entering in the eighth with Milwaukee ahead 8-2.
- McCullers went 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two relief appearances with Milwaukee, posting 5 strikeouts and 5 walks over 4⅔ innings in a bullpen role after starting 148 of his 154 career outings.
- Houston paid $4,227,273 of McCullers' remaining salary in the July 15 deal that also sent left-hander Colton Gordon to Milwaukee for minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder, leaving McCullers' net cost to the Brewers at $2.5 million.
- McCullers was on the injured list with shoulder inflammation at the time of the trade and last pitched for the Astros on May 13; he went 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts for Houston this season.
- The Brewers recalled right-handed pitcher Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville to fill the roster spot; Stallings went 3-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 18 appearances (13 starts) at Nashville.
Why it matters: The Brewers committed $2.5 million in net salary for 13 days and two relief outings from a 32-year-old two-time World Series champion whose recent track record (6.86 ERA in 2025) and injury history made the experiment risky from the start. Moving a career starter who had 148 of 154 appearances as a rotation arm to a leverage relief role was a fundamental change, and the five walks in 4⅔ innings showed the conversion failed before Milwaukee could extract any value from the trade.
