The Milwaukee Brewers got a jump on the trade deadline Wednesday, July 14, adding experienced major league depth to their pitching staff.
Coming to the Brewers from the Houston Astros are right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. and left-hander Colton Gordon, according to separate reports.
What’s unclear is what the Brewers are sending to the Astros in exchange.
Neither team has confirmed the deal.
McCullers, 32, has pitched only 9⅓ innings over four appearances (one start) this season and has been on the injured list with shoulder inflammation since May 19, although he was on rehab assignment at the time of the trade.
He’s 2-3 with a 6.86 earned run average and 1.53 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).
A first-round pick of the Astros in 2012, McCullers has battled major injuries throughout his career, missing the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and then all of 2023 and 2024 due to flexor tendon surgery.
His best season came in 2021, when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA, WHIP of 1.22 and 185 strikeouts in 162⅓ innings over 28 starts.
McCullers uses essentially a five-pitch mix that favors a cutter (27%) and sinker (22.7%) while relying much more on location than velocity (career-low average 91.3 mph on his sinker) with roughly even splits versus right-handed and left-handed batters (.254/.258 batting average).
Gordon, 27, has appeared in just four games for the Astros this season (one start) and compiled an 11.57 ERA and WHIP of 2.57. He’s struck out 11 in 9⅓ innings but also allowed six home runs.
The 2021 fourth-round pick has pitched to much better success at Class AAA Sugar Land, going 6-3 with a 3.69 ERA, WHIP of 1.18 and 55 strikeouts in 70⅔ innings (14 appearances, 13 starts) with only seven homers allowed.
In 2025, Gordon was 6-4 with a 5.34 ERA, WHIP of 1.42 and 72 strikeouts in 86 innings over 20 appearances (14 starts). He also logged a four-inning save.
Gordon ranks in the 83rd percentile in extension while utilizing primarily a four-seam fastball (36.1%, 91.2 average velocity) and sweeper (29.7%) with a sinker and changeup his next most-used pitches.
He’s struggled to keep the ball on the ground in his limited major-league experience (33.3% over 24 appearances).
McCullers is in the final year of a five-year, $85 million contract extension he signed with the Astros before the 2021 season.
Milwaukee is thin on starting pitching with left-hander Kyle Harrison and right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the injured list and right-hander Jacob Misiorowski having skipped his last start due to fatigue.
The Brewers begin the unofficial second half of the season Friday against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers reportedly trading for Astros pitchers Lance McCullers Jr., Colton Gordon
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
