Brewers call up forgotten piece of Lance McCullers Jr. trade for bullpen reinforcement

In the midst of this year's All-Star Break, the Milwaukee Brewers swung a three-player trade with the Houston Astros. In exchange for outfield prospect Jayden Fielder, son of franchise legend Prince Fielder, the Brewers acquired veteran right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. and left-hander Colton Gordon.

While Fielder could eventually make it to the big leagues, Houston's biggest reward from the deal was shedding the remainder of McCullers' salary. Brewers fans initially thought the organization was going to work their pitching magic with McCullers, a former Astros postseason hero who had seen his effectiveness dip due to a string of unfortunate injuries. However, after just two appearances out of the Brewers' bullpen, the latter of which included four walks in 1.2 innings, McCullers was designated for assignment.

As a result, it became clear that the 27-year-old Gordon was the real target of the trade, and Milwaukee only took on McCullers' remaining salary to decrease the amount of prospect capital they had to send Houston's way, similar to the Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery trade deadline deal Matt Arnold and company executed last year.

Gordon, however, despite covering 95.1 innings for the Astros between the 2025 and 2026 campaigns, wasn't seen as an immediate big-league contributor, but rather a potential-laden arm who could become something special under the guidance of the Brewers' excellent pitching department. Therefore, the soft-throwing southpaw was assigned to Triple-A, where he's pitched ever since the mid-July trade.

However, just moments ago, the Brewers announced that Gordon is getting his first shot with the big-league club. In need of bullpen reinforcement after Kyle Harrison's short start in yesterday's series finale in Pittsburgh, the Brewers have officially sent right-hander Garrett Stallings to Triple-A and replaced him on the major league roster with the left-handed Gordon.

Brewers promote left-hander Colton Gordon to big-league roster, option Garrett Stallings to Triple-A

For as excited as the Brewers' front office appears to be about Gordon, the left-hander has struggled during his first two months in his new organization. In 10 starts with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Gordon has posted a 4.67 ERA with fewer strikeouts (48) than innings pitched (54). His biggest issue during the stretch has been keeping the ball in the ballpark; in those 54 innings, Gordon has surrendered a whopping 10 home runs.

Gordon does a great job of limiting free passes, but has shown inconsistent command with his pitches within the strike zone, hence the elevated home run numbers, which extend to his brief time spent in the big leagues. Gordon throws two fastballs, a four-seam and a sinker, and has been throwing the sinker far more since joining the Brewers' organization. He pairs those fastballs with a slider that he throws mostly to left-handers and a changeup-curveball combo that he uses against righties. There's certainly a lot to like in Gordon's profile, but it has yet to all come together for the 27-year-old. Perhaps, under the tutelage of the Brewers' pitching coaches, it will finally click for Gordon.

Gordon has worked as both a reliever and starter in the big leagues and operated solely as a starting pitcher with the Sounds. However, given the timing of his promotion, it appears as if he will be used as a multi-inning, low-leverage reliever down the stretch. He hasn't pitched since September 12, when he threw 97 pitches in a 5.2-inning start, so he should be more than fresh for tonight's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. If he isn't used in either of the first two games of the Orioles series, Gordon could be a candidate to start Sunday's series finale, for which the Brewers have yet to announce a starting pitcher.

Meanwhile, it's a tough demotion for Stallings, one that is based not on his results on the mound, but rather due solely to the fact that he threw 42 pitches on Thursday afternoon, and wasn't going to be available for probably two games. Stallings has yet to allow an earned run in 14 big-league innings, and struck out six batters in his three innings of work yesterday, but the Brewers needed a fresh arm in their bullpen and unfortunately Stallings is one of the few relievers with minor league options remaining.

Brewers fans should be excited to see what Gordon has to offer. Milwaukee's front office has a strong track record of turning players who were struggling elsewhere into big-league contributors. Gordon, with the disconnect between his potential and his results to this point in his career, could become the latest example.

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