Less than two weeks after the Houston Astros traded him, Lance McCullers Jr.’s stint with the Milwaukee Brewers appears to be over.
The Brewers designated McCullers for assignment Sunday after recalling right-hander Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville. Milwaukee now has seven days to trade McCullers or place him on waivers.
McCullers made just two appearances for the Brewers after the July 15 trade, allowing five runs, two earned, over 4 2/3 innings. He walked five batters while striking out four. His final outing came Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, when he surrendered three unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings despite allowing only one hit.
Houston traded McCullers and left-hander Colton Gordon to Milwaukee in exchange for outfield prospect Jadyn Fielder, a move that gave the Astros additional payroll flexibility while adding a young position player to the organization.
McCullers, who spent his entire major-league career with Houston before the deal, was originally selected by the Astros with the 41st overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. He helped the club win World Series titles in 2017 and 2022 and earned an All-Star selection in 2017.
Injuries defined the latter part of McCullers’ Astros tenure. After signing a five-year, $85 million extension before the 2022 season, he pitched just 142 1/3 major-league innings over the life of the contract while undergoing multiple surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation stints.
As a player with more than 10 years of major-league service time, including at least five with the same club, McCullers had to approve the trade by waiving his no-trade rights. At the time of the deal, he acknowledged the difficulty of leaving the only organization he had known, saying that “sometimes you have to move on.”
Milwaukee must now decide whether to trade McCullers or place him on waivers within the next seven days.
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