The Brewers are adding some depth to a pitching staff that has taken significant hits in recent weeks. Milwaukee is reportedly finalizing a trade for the right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. and the left hand Colton Gordon from the Astros. The Brewers will take the currently undisclosed salary portion remaining on McCullers’ underwater contract and add a selectable and controllable 27-year-old lefty (Gordon). Houston’s return is not yet known, although it does not include any of the most prominent prospects in their program. The teams have yet to officially announce the trade.
It’s a surprising and out-of-the-blue deal. McCullers has not ridden since May 13 with a shoulder injury and is inactive when healthy. He moved up to the minor leagues on June 25 and has pitched three solid games thus far.
This is certainly a salary-driven move for Houston. McCullers is being paid $17MM in the final season of a five-year, $85MM contract extension, but he hasn’t pitched well since the 2022 season. That contract included a full no-trade clause, but McCullers has already agreed to waive that protection.
McCullers, 32, missed all of 2023-24 with a strained ligament that required surgery, and posted a 6.65 ERA in 94 2/3 innings last season. He still owes about $6.672MM of this year’s $17MM salary. If Milwaukee takes even a fraction of that amount, it will free up some resources for the ‘Stros as they prepare to make additions before the Aug. trade deadline. 3.
Before a nagging injury limited him to 142 1/3 major league innings from 2022-26, McCullers was a key member of Houston’s pitching staff. From 2015-21, the 2012 No. 41 overall draft pick pitched the Astros 671 innings with a 3.57 ERA, a 26.6% strikeout rate, a 9.7% walk rate and a massive 55.5% groundball rate. Even in that injury-shortened 2022 season, McCullers posted a 2.27 ERA in 47 2/3 frames (eight starts). He was a key contributor last season, as evidenced by the 3.47 ERA he compiled in 72 2/3 playoff innings.
Injuries have been a recurring theme throughout McCullers’ career. He missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery. He didn’t make his 2022 debut until Aug. 13 due to flexibility issues. Recurring flexibility issues in 2023 led to him opening the season on the injured list and eventually undergoing surgery to repair his right tendon and remove bone spurs from his elbow. Since returning in 2025, he has averaged just 91.4 mph in his sinker — just south of the 94 mph he averaged before the onset of his hip and shoulder issues.
As one would expect, McCullers’ strikeout rate and strikeout rate have declined. The level of communication with his opponents has improved, as has the quality of communication. Opposing hitters averaged 90.9 mph off the bat with a 50% strikeout rate dating back to last season. From 2015-22, those numbers sat at 88.8 mph and 35.2%, respectively.
The Brewers, of course, have a reputation as one of the better development organizations in the industry. Milwaukee’s “pitch lab” has helped engineer transitions and/or breakouts for young pitchers Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Tobias Myers, Trevor McGill, Joel Payamps, Bryan Hudson again Bryse Wilson in recent years. They will hope to add McCullers to that list of success stories, although the six years of Gordon’s control they are taking is the most attractive end of their deal.
Gordon has just 95 1/3 major league innings to his name – only 9 1/3 of which will come this season. He posted an abysmal 5.95 ERA in that small sample, trailing an average of less than 19.3% of his opponents with a path-leading 5.1% walk rate. Gordon hasn’t been very popular at home — the short left field porch at Daikin Park in Houston doesn’t help him in that regard — despite doing a good job of avoiding hard contact.
Although Gordon’s track record in the big leagues is lacking, he has been effective in Triple-A. He pitched in parts of four seasons at the minor league level, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA over the past three. Overall, in 285 innings with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land, Gordon has a 3.85 ERA, a 21.8% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. He is in the second of three minor league options and could be comfortably sandwiched between Milwaukee and Nashville this year and beyond.
The 6’4″, 225-pound Gordon was an eighth-round pick out of Houston in 2021. He’s a five-pitch lefty who averages 91.1 mph on his four-seamer, complementing that primary offering with a sinker (91.4 mph average), slider (81.1 mph) and 81.1 mph. (75.5 mph). He’s been hit hard by righties and lefties alike in the majors but has a solid record against southpaws in the minors. Back in 2024, he held both righties and lefties to a sub-.700 OPS in 123 1/3 Triple-A frames.
The extent to which Milwaukee can control Gordon will depend on how much time he spends on the big league roster until the end of the season. He entered the 2026 campaign with 112 days of major league service and has started 14 more. If he spends another 46 days on the disabled/injured list, he can reach one full year of service time and be in control for five years, in 2031. If Gordon spends 45 days or less on the active calendar list – he leaves the regular calendar list 7 days shy of one full year and is controlled for six full seasons, until 2032.
The acquisitions of McCullers and Gordon come at a time when the Brewers’ rotation has taken some notable hits. The aforementioned Priester recently underwent chest surgery and will not play this season. Harrison, whose breakout season in 2026 matched Priester’s 2025 season, was placed on the injured list last week and revealed he had some elbow soreness that started earlier. Brandon Woodruff It was great this season but it only took three starts in his latest return from the injured list before landing on the 60-day IL due to recurring symptoms. He made just nine total starts (albeit with an excellent 2.98 ERA).
Those three injuries jeopardized the Brewers’ major league rotation and minor league depth. Today’s trading statistics help both. Currently, Milwaukee’s rotation is anchored by the NL Cy Young leader Jacob Misiorowskibut there is little certainty after that.
Logan Henderson he’s a top 100 prospect to start his young career, but he has 53 2/3 MLB innings under his belt so far. Brandon Sproat another recent top 100 arm that has started to strengthen after a rough start to the season. Robert Gasser it’s another once-honored arm that has performed well more often than not this season. (His 5.24 ERA was shaken by a seven-run hiccup in a July 12 start.) However, he is in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. Left Shane Drohan stepped up in a big way, but the Red Sox’s longtime farm (acquired alongside Harrison in Feb Caleb Durbin trade) is 27 years old making his MLB debut this season.
Gordon or McCullers — once his rehab is complete — could slot into the rotation. The Brewers could also consider McCullers as a bullpen option or cut him entirely, using part of his contract as a vehicle to acquire Gordon.
For the Astros, shedding any part of the McCullers deal is a minor victory. As shown in MLBTR’s new Payroll Tracker, Houston’s competitive balance tax obligations sit at $238,329,588 before this trade. That puts them just $5.67MM from the luxury tax threshold — a barrier that owner Jim Crane usually avoids. The Astros have crossed that line under Crane twice in the past, but it was also usually the result of a notable trade (eg. Kyle Tucker) and has arguably limited the front office at times as they pursue various needs. Moving McCullers creates more breathing room and also answers the question of how they will adjust his roster spot when his rehab ends next week.
The trade figures to be the first of several for both teams. Houston is looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder and some help in the bullpen. Milwaukee has been hunting for more depth and a right-handed bat and some help on the left side of the infield. Both sides have less than three weeks to check those boxes, and today’s impromptu exchange serves as a starting point for each team.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported that the two sides were finalizing a trade involving McCullers. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome added that McCullers has officially waived his no-trade clause. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Milwaukee would cover the remainder of McCullers’ contract, while Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Gordon’s inclusion in the deal.
