Another starting pitcher has been taken off the market.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded right-hander Jordan Lyles to the Milwaukee Brewers, according to The Athletic. Milwaukee will send reliever prospect Cody Ponce to Pittsburgh in return.
Lyles, 28, owns a 5-7 record and an ugly 5.36 ERA through 17 starts this season. However, his impressive strikeout rate (9.8 K/9) makes him an intriguing addition to the back end of the Brewer rotation. Lyles might see time in the bullpen as well.
Ponce was a former second-round pick by the Brewers in the 2015 draft, and was playing with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers before the trade.
Milwaukee’s 4.68 staff ERA ranked 20th in MLB entering Monday. The Brewers currently sit one game out of the wild card, but have the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies both sitting ahead of them for the second wild-card spot. Starters Jhoulys Chacin and Brandon Woodruff were both placed on the 10-day IL last week with a strained lat and strained left oblique, respectively, leaving the team thin at that position.
With a struggling and injury-riddled pitching staff, Lyles offers the Brewers some insurance as they enter the heart of a postseason push, and takes one of the cheaper starting pitching options off the market for contenders looking to buy before the July 31 trade deadline.


