While acknowledging the difficulty of leaving his only pro organization, Lance McCullers Jr. said he opted to waive his no-trade clause partly out of his love for the franchise.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
After 14 years in the Houston Astros organization, Lance McCullers Jr. agreed to be traded Wednesday to the Milwaukee Brewers, ending a tenure that included two World Series titles and some indelible October moments with the only professional franchise he has known.
For the Astros, the trade pared payroll ahead of the trade deadline and aided with roster flexibility. It also required approval from McCullers, who could veto any trade due to having 10 years of MLB service time and the last five with the same team.
McCullers, in a phone interview Wednesday, said he never hoped to play elsewhere than with Houston, but he reached the decision this week with an understanding that a trade could benefit the Astros, as well as some optimism about a new opportunity.
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On Monday, McCullers said, team owner Jim Crane spoke with him and asked if McCullers would be open to waiving his no-trade rights.
“It was a really good conversation,” McCullers said. “Basically … he told me that (the Astros) thought a trade was the best option moving forward for the rest of the season, and if I would be willing to waive my no-trade clause. And so of course, out of the respect I have for Mr. Crane, I told him I would speak to my family and I would consider it.”
McCullers, 32, said he discussed the possibility with his family, his father (former pitcher Lance McCullers), his agent and other people he considers “mentors.” Ultimately, he told Crane he would be willing to waive the no-trade rights.
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“Since I’ve been an Astro, since I was 18 years old, I never wanted to ever play for another organization or anything like that,” McCullers said. “But I think everything kind of comes to a time where sometimes you have to move on. And I think this was just a situation where I can be proud of what I helped accomplish here and what I did here, but also understand the fact that it would put the team in a better situation if I did move on and possibly put me in a better situation for the rest of the season as well.
“Didn’t want to be that kind of veteran guy who has a no-trade and the organization’s looking to potentially make moves and align themselves for their goals of the season and just tell them, ‘Tough luck, I’m not going anywhere.’ So out of my love, I guess, for the organization and respect I have for Jim, I felt like waiving the no-trade and letting them seek an opportunity to trade me was the right move.”
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Drafted in 2012 by the Astros, McCullers developed into a part of their rotation and became a part of their postseason lore with outings during World Series runs in 2017 and ’22. Injuries impacted his trajectory, also, resulting in two major arm surgeries and sidelining him for much of a five-year, $85 million extension he signed in 2021.
McCullers, who is on the injured list rehabbing from a shoulder ailment, said the decision was “tough. I always thought in my mind, if the situation ever arose, that I would say no. Having the full no-trade with the 10-and-5, and just having been here so long and so settled here, and my kids are here and (their) school and we’re just so tied to the city, I just always felt like it would just be an immediate no.
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“It was a very hard decision, it wasn’t something that I initially wanted to do. But after I did tell him they could seek trade options, you find out Milwaukee’s very interested in you, and you know how good a team they are, how good of a coaching staff they have on the pitching staff, and it makes you excited. It makes you excited for a new chapter, to experience new things.
“So there was a little bit of sadness potentially, the emotions mixed in originally, emotional decision. But I think it eventually became clear that it would be great for the Astros, it would be great for me as well. So you make your decisions and you live with them.”
McCullers, sidelined since mid-May due to what he termed a rotator cuff impingement, made his most recent rehab start last Tuesday at Triple-A Sugar Land. He said he is “not quite sure what the game plan will be for me” with the Brewers but was scheduled to fly to Milwaukee on Thursday to meet with the team and staff and “just kind of go from there.”
“Health-wise, I feel good and feel like I’m ready to go, ready to contribute,” McCullers said.
“I still love to compete. Obviously, the last few years with my injuries and things like that that I’ve been striving and working relentlessly hard to overcome, I feel like I still have stuff to give.”
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Since the start of 2022, McCullers has thrown a total of 142 ⅓ regular-season innings in the majors. He missed all of 2023 and ’24 due to flexor surgery and setbacks, before returning to the majors last season from a 2 ½-year absence.
With the Astros, McCullers went 53-40 with a 3.85 ERA across 154 regular-season outings. He was an All-Star in 2017 and finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting in 2021. In the postseason, McCullers totaled a 3.47 ERA over 19 appearances, including a relief outing in Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS in which he closed out the New York Yankees with four scoreless innings.
“When I entered pro ball, the only thing that I wanted to be known for was being a great teammate, and I hope that every guy that I ever interacted with over the course of my (Astros tenure) feels that way, like I cared about them, that I wanted them to succeed, that I did everything that I could to help,” McCullers said. “And I wanted to always just leave it out there on the field.
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“Whether good or bad, I just wanted to be known as a guy that left it all out there and would battle and be a bulldog and would hopefully rise to the occasion when the team needed him to. And for the very vast part of my career and postseason career, I did that. And I hope these guys that I’ve played with in the clubhouse over the years feel that way.
“And when I got here and kind of fell in love with the city, it was really important to me that I give back to the city. And I did that. I feel like I really poured myself into the city just as equally as they poured themselves into me and to our team over the years. So that’s how I hope that I’m remembered.”