Why Brewers are parting ways with Lance McCullers 11 days after trading for him

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Lance McCullers lasted less than two weeks with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Just 11 days after trading for McCullers from the Houston Astros, the Brewers designated the right-handed pitcher for assignment.

The DFA removes McCullers from the 40-man roster and places him on waivers, where he can be claimed by another team.

As a veteran, McCullers can elect free agency if he passes through waivers, rather than reporting to Triple-A.

McCullers pitched in relief twice for Milwaukee. He gave up two earned runs across 4.2 innings to go with five strikeouts and five walks (three hits allowed).

Now, it's unlikely he throws more for the Brewers following their decision to DFA him.

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Why did the Brewers DFA Lance McCullers?

In the immediate, it's because they wanted to clear space to call up pitcher Garrett Stallings from Triple-A.

It's also very likely that Milwaukee saw McCullers as a short-term solution who they wanted to get a closer look at.

Once he didn't blow the Brewers away with his present ability, McCullers became expendable.

They had sent Prince Fielder's son, Jadyn, to the Astros for McCullers. They also received lefty pitching prospect Colton Gordon in the trade as part of a benefit of picking up a portion of McCullers' salary.

While McCullers was the big name, the Brewers may have done the deal just as much for the prospect swap as anything, so the trade is far from a failure just because McCullers didn't last very long in Milwaukee.