Brewers designate recently acquired Lance McCullers for assignment
The Brewers designated pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. for assignment less than two weeks after acquiring him from the Astros on July 15. McCullers walked four batters in 1⅔ innings of relief in his final appearance and compiled a 3.86 ERA over two relief outings with Milwaukee. His departure raises questions about the Brewers' trade judgment given his shoulder injury history and poor performance in Houston.
The Brewers designated pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. for assignment before their game Sunday against the Colorado Rockies, cutting ties with the veteran less than two weeks after acquiring him from the Astros on July 15.
McCullers arrived in Milwaukee with a track record of injuries and a difficult 2026 season in Houston. The Astros had paid the Brewers $4,227,273 toward his remaining salary, per ESPN's reporting, leaving Milwaukee's cost at $2.5 million.
In his brief stint with the Brewers, McCullers went 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA over two relief appearances, striking out five and walking five while allowing five runs (two earned) over 4⅔ innings, according to ESPN. His final appearance came Saturday in an 8-5 victory over the Rockies: he entered with Milwaukee ahead 8-2 in the eighth inning, then returned for the ninth, allowing a hit and two walks before Trevor Megill recorded the final out. In that outing, McCullers walked four batters in 1⅔ innings of relief.
The role itself was new terrain. McCullers had started 148 of his 154 career outings with Houston, making the bullpen transition untested before the Astros traded him away. He was on the injured list with shoulder inflammation at the time of the trade and last pitched for Houston on May 13. In 2026 with the Astros, he compiled a 2-3 record with a 6.86 ERA over eight starts before the trade, per ESPN's reporting.
The 32-year-old right-hander, who began his MLB career in 2015 and owns a 53-40 record with a 3.85 ERA, was part of Houston's 2017 and 2022 World Series champion teams but missed entire seasons in 2019, 2023, and 2024 due to injury. The Brewers recalled right-handed pitcher Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville in McCullers' place. Stallings pitched three scoreless innings in two earlier appearances with Milwaukee this season and has gone 3-3 with a 4.11 ERA for Nashville over 18 appearances, including 13 starts, according to ESPN.
The designation for assignment, a roster move that removes a player from the 40-man roster and gives other teams a chance to claim him on waivers, represents a significant reversal for the Brewers just eleven days after the trade.
McCullers was designated for assignment by the Brewers before their game Sunday against Colorado, having posted a 3.86 ERA in two relief appearances over less than two weeks with the team.
McCullers enters waivers with a new team able to claim him, though his recent performance and injury history may limit interest. Watch whether he clears waivers or is claimed, and whether the Brewers' quick pivot signals broader concerns about deadline trades involving injury-recovery situations.
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