Brewers turn to Cubs playbook in surprising trade for Astros veteran down on his luck

While the Chicago Cubs are looking for pitching wherever they can find it this season, it was the Milwaukee Brewers that signaled that Hot Stove season has arrived in a surprise trade with the Houston Astros.

Not to the extent that the Cubs are, the Brewers are suddenly leaking oil when it comes to their pitching staff. There's a chance that Brandon Woodruff doesn't pitch again for the Brewers this season, and Jacob Misiorowski also entered the All-Star break dealing with fatigure.

It doesn't appear that the Brewers are overly concerned with Misiorowski's status, but they added a veteran reinforcement in Lance McCullers Jr. Details of the trade between the Brewers and Astros are still coming out, but Milwaukee is also receiving left-hander Colton Gordon in the deal.

Brewers are trying Cubs favorite trick by poaching Lance McCullers Jr. from the Astros

McCullers was one of the final players remaining from Houston's dynasty over the past decade, but he has fallen on hard times in recent years. Injuries limited McCullers to just 16 appearances last year, posting an ERA of 6.51. Things weren't much better for the 32-year-old this season, sporting a 6.86 ERA in just eight starts.

Given his struggles over the past year, McCullers had been pretty candid about his future. He's previously suggested that he would rather retire if he wasn't capable of helping the Astros. With his contract expiring at the end of this season, there was early speculation that could be the outcome. Nonetheless, the Brewers were able to convince McCullers to waive his no-trade clause.

Essentially, this is the Brewers' equivalent to trading for David Peterson. Adding McCullers is an early way for Milwaukee to add depth, and chances are, the veteran won't be part of the team's playoff rotation in October. Of course, it's the Brewers, so the odd of them fixing the veteran right-hander also can't be ruled out.

Now that the 2026 MLB Draft is over and the All-Star break is about to be in the rearview mirror, teams are gearing up for the deadline. While Jed Hoyer has suggested that teams may wait until closer to August 3 to make moves, the Brewers certainly aren't one of the team. The Cubs have several needs across their pitching staff, and it would be in their best interest to find an early deal, as Milwaukee did with the Astros.

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