Brewers shift roster strategy as McCullers designated for assignment
Milwaukee Brewers have designated Lance McCullers Jr. for assignment less than two weeks after acquiring him from the Houston Astros, replacing him with Garrett Stallings following a difficult outing against the Colorado Rockies.
The Milwaukee Brewers have designated veteran right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. for assignment, a move announced prior to the team's Sunday game against the Colorado Rockies. The decision comes less than two weeks after Milwaukee acquired McCullers from the Houston Astros, marking a swift adjustment to the club's pitching rotation and bullpen composition.
The designation follows a challenging performance on Saturday, where McCullers walked four batters over 1⅔ innings of relief during an 8-5 victory. McCullers entered the contest with Milwaukee leading 8-2 in the eighth inning and returned for the ninth, allowing a hit and two walks before Trevor Megill secured the final out. This outing contributed to a 3.86 earned run average across two appearances for the Brewers, during which he struck out five and walked five batters over 4⅔ innings.
McCullers, who spent his entire major league career with Houston, had not previously pitched in a relief role, having started in 148 of his 154 career outings. The transition to the bullpen proved difficult, leading to the roster move. To fill the resulting vacancy, the Brewers recalled right-handed pitcher Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville. Stallings, who posted a 3-3 record with a 4.11 ERA in 18 appearances for Nashville this season, has previously pitched for Milwaukee, recording three scoreless innings in two appearances earlier this year.
The acquisition of McCullers and left-hander Colton Gordon occurred on July 15 in exchange for minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder. Houston agreed to pay Milwaukee $4,227,273 to offset most of McCullers' remaining salary, leaving the Brewers with a cost of $2.5 million. At the time of the trade, McCullers was on the injured list with shoulder inflammation and had not pitched for the Astros since May 13.
McCullers, 32, began his major league career in 2015 and holds a 53-40 record with a 3.85 career ERA. He was a member of Houston's 2017 and 2022 World Series championship teams, though injuries limited his availability in subsequent years. For the 2026 season with Houston, he recorded a 2-3 record with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts.
