Brewers Reacquire Jordan Lyles In Trade With Pirates

In need of a starter for the stretch run, the Brewers acquired veteran righthander Jordan Lyles from the Pirates on Monday in exchange for Double-A righthander Cody Ponce.

Lyles, 28, joins a Brewers rotation that ranks 20th in the majors with a 4.84 ERA. He appeared in 11 games for the Brewers last season as a reliever after they claimed him off waivers from the Padres. He signed with the Pirates as a free agent in the offseason.

Ponce ranked as the Brewers' No. 25 prospect in the Midseason Top 30 Update.

BREWERS ACQUIRE

Jordan Lyles, RHP
Age: 28

It's been a tale of two seasons for Lyles in 2019. He began the year with a 1.89 ERA over his first nine appearances (eight starts) but followed with a 9.57 ERA over his last nine starts. Overall, Lyles is 5-7, 5.36 on the year. The 2008 first-round pick hasn't been particularly effective over the course of his career, but if he can regain his early season form, it will be a boon to a Brewers club in dire need of pitching.

PIRATES ACQUIRE

Cody Ponce, RHP
Age: 25

A second-round pick in 2015, Ponce moved from the rotation to the bullpen full-time this year at Double-A Biloxi and saw a resulting uptick in his stuff. He's a big man at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds with a fastball that now sits 94-95 mph in relief. The increased velocity has helped his average cutter and curveball play up, and as a result he's striking out a career-best 10.3 batters per nine innings this year. Ponce's future is as a reliever, and he has a chance to help the Pirates sooner rather than later.

Cody Ponce Relishes Return To The Rotation

The Pirates moved Ponce back to the rotation after acquiring him from the Brewers this summer. Now he can make use of all four of his pitches.