Dodgers fans reminded of 2017 World Series heartbreak with Astros-Brewers trade

It's been almost a decade, but just the mention of the 2017 World Series is still a surefire way to rage bait a Dodgers fan. It's hard to find a baseball fan outside of southern California who will willingly sympathize with the Los Angeles Dodgers these days, but even they can admit that World Series was stolen.

Lance McCullers Jr. was the man on the mound for the Houston Astros to start Game 7. He didn't last long after putting two men on base during the third inning, but AJ Hinch's caution paid of in the end. Houston's bullpen, along with four admirable innings from Charlie Morton, shut down LA's bats while the Astros offense tee'd off of Yu Darvish in just 1⅔ innings.

Almost a decade later, that 2017 Astros rotation has been mostly scattered to the wind. Dallas Keuchel flamed out and has been unsigned since 2025. Charlie Morton retired last year, and Justin Verlander announced his intention to retire at the end of this season.

McCullers is still kicking, but barely. He had issues with injury before 2017 and has never been able to shake them. He's covered less than 500 innings in eight-and-a-half seasons since that World Series.

For some reason, the Milwaukee Brewers traded for him (and reliever Colton Gordon) on Wednesday anyway. Milwaukee will take on at least $2 million of what's left on his five-year, $85 million contract.

Astros trading Lance McCullers Jr. to Brewers gives Dodgers fans uncomfortable 2017 flashbacks

McCullers and the Astros agreed to the contract extension ahead of the 2021 season, and he actually ended up making it look like a worthwhile investment at the time. He pitched a career-high 162⅓ innings for a 3.16 ERA, which was impressive enough to get him a fair number of Cy Young votes. But he's only managed 142⅓ innings in the five years since then, and missed all of 2023 and 2024 with injury.

The Brewers have one of the most — if not the most — impressive pitching labs in the game. If anyone was going to fix McCullers, who has a 6.86 ERA in eight starts and spent time on the IL this season (shocker), it would probably be Milwaukee. But even they won't be able to do anything about the injuries if they persist.

The Brewers are still one of the biggest threats to a Dodgers three-peat, but they might be the only ones who believe this trade is actually going to help them in the postseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow