MLB Rumors: Why Brewers made McCullers trade and Blue Jays trade deadline path

The MLB All-Star Game is complete, meaning attention now completely turns to the next major event on the calendar: the trade deadline. It's less than three weeks away now, meaning that sooner rather than later we're going to see some needle-movers get dealt.

Of course, we also don't have to wait that long. The latest MLB rumors cover a trade that was just made, what the Toronto Blue Jays might do as a team stuck between buying and selling and more. Let's dive in.

MLB rumors: Brewers add much-needed starting pitching depth in trade with Astros

The Milwaukee Brewers made an early trade on Wednesday, acquiring Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon in a deal with the Houston Astros. On the surface, this makes little sense for Milwaukee, given that McCullers has a 6.86 ERA in eight starts this season and he has thrown a total of 94.2 innings since the start of the 2023 campaign. Adding to that, he's making $17.7 million this season, so it's not as if the Brewers are acquiring a pitcher making the league minimum. As weird as it looks on paper, though, there are a couple of reasons Milwaukee made this trade.

First and foremost, they need all the pitching depth they can get. The Brewers are ravaged by injuries right now in their rotation, with Kyle Harrison recently joining Brandon Woodruff, Coleman Crow and Quinn Priester on the IL. They need starting pitching depth, and McCullers, who has made three rehab starts and should be ready to return off the IL imminently, can provide that.

Second, they managed to acquire Colton Gordon, another starting pitcher, and did so presumably without giving up anything of much value (the return is not clear as of this writing). Gordon's numbers aren't any good, but he's a 27-year-old left-hander with big-league experience and tons of cheap club control. Controllable starters are hard to acquire for cheap, and perhaps the Brewers — who have long had a track record for unearthing pitching diamonds — see something in Gordon they can unlock.

The same goes for McCullers. At worst, the Brewers aren't trading much to acquire two starters who might be able to help them now. At best, Milwaukee acquired two starters they can get the most out of while still having the necessary ammo to make more deals ahead of the trade deadline. It's a gamble, but one that involves very little risk — and given the Brewers' track record, has the chance for at least some reward.

Blue Jays deadline plans will be dictated by how they play after All-Star Game

The Toronto Blue Jays are in a weird spot. On one hand, they're 45-51 and haven't really looked like a contending team all year. On the other hand, they're just 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the American League. One week, good or bad, could have them in a postseason spot or out of contention entirely. For that reason, the Jays are reportedly using the first couple of weeks after the All-Star break as the deciding factor regarding whether they'll be buyers or sellers at this year's trade deadline, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic ($).

"Toronto will likely have to lock in on a plan by July 29, four days before the Aug. 3 trade deadline," Bannon wrote. "It has 13 games between now and then. If the Jays go 8-5 or better in that stretch, they’ll likely buy. Anything worse and it could be time to sell."

This makes a lot of sense. If the Jays go 8-5 or better out of the break, there's a good chance that they'll make up ground in the Wild Card race. If they go worse than 8-5, can anyone think this team has a run in them? Again, Toronto has not looked like true contenders all year, and as of now, they need to not only make up 2.5 games but also jump over five teams that are ahead of them in the standings.

If the Jays can't make up ground, it makes no sense to push chips in. At that point, we might see pending free agents like Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho and others become available.

Willson Contreras isn't going anywhere whether Red Sox buy or sell

The Boston Red Sox are another team trying to decide what they'll do at the trade deadline. They ended the first half having won nine in a row and 14 of 16, clawing their way back into the playoff race. They're now just a half game out of the third Wild Card spot in the AL. They've presumably played their way into being buyers, but things can change in the weeks after the break. Regardless of whether they end up buying or selling, though, don't expect Willson Contreras to be on the move.

“The front office knows the answer. I already spoke [to them] about it, but I don't think I'm interested in going anywhere,” said Contreras. “I didn’t [directly] say, ‘Don’t ask me for a trade.’ But I told them I would trade something to stay here. That’s what I said. I like Boston. I think it’s a great place to play, and it's not easy to get traded again. So, I think I found my family here.”

Contreras has a full no-trade clause in his contract, and he's made it clear he has no interest in waiving it. Contreras did approve a trade to go to Boston over the offseason, but that could add to why he's unwilling to do so again. He feels comfortable and is certainly having a great year.

Contreras, a 2026 All-Star, has been Boston's best and most consistent position player from the jump. They wouldn't be guaranteed to trade him if they do decide to sell given that Contreras has another year on his contract, but now, even if the Red Sox wanted to trade him, a deal is unlikely to come to fruition with Contreras having full veto powers.

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