Brewers DFA McCullers Two Weeks After Astros Trade
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- Lance McCullers Jr. was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, less than two weeks after they acquired him from the Houston Astros.
- The Brewers announced the move before their game against the Colorado Rockies and recalled right-hander Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville to replace him.
- McCullers walked four batters in 1⅔ innings of relief the night before, entering an 8-5 victory with Milwaukee leading 8-2 in the eighth inning before surrendering a hit and two walks in the ninth.
- McCullers went 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two relief appearances with Milwaukee, striking out five, walking five and allowing five runs (three earned) over 4⅔ innings — a bullpen role new to a pitcher who had started 148 of his 154 career outings with Houston.
- The July 15 trade sent McCullers and left-hander Colton Gordon to Milwaukee for minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder, with Houston paying $4,227,273 to offset most of McCullers' salary and leaving the Brewers on the hook for $2.5 million.
- McCullers owns a career 53-40 record with a 3.85 ERA and was part of Houston's 2017 and 2022 World Series teams, but injuries kept him from pitching in 2019, 2023 and 2024, and he was on the injured list with shoulder inflammation at the time of the trade.
Why it matters: The Brewers took on $2.5 million and flipped a prospect for McCullers on July 15, then DFA'd him after 4⅔ bullpen innings — a rapid reversal that underscores how uncomfortable the transition from starter to reliever proved for a 32-year-old pitcher whose last outing for Houston came on May 13 while rehabbing shoulder inflammation. Milwaukee now exposes itself to losing the player via waivers or release while having already surrendered outfield depth in Fielder.
