A potentially ominous injury leaves the Brewers comically short in the starting rotation
There was a brief moment this spring when it looked like the Brewers’ starting rotation depth was going to be a strength for the 2025 team. Now, on April 6, barely a week into the season, Nestor Cortes has been placed on the injured list, and the Brewers have exactly one of their top seven pitchers available to them, as noted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg:
Active roster status of the Brewers’ 7 “preferred” rotation candidates to start spring.
Peralta ✅
Cortes ❌
Myers❌
Quintana ❌
Hall ❌
Ashby ❌
Civale❌— Curt Hogg (@cyrthogg.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T15:42:44.643Z
The Brewers announced Cortes’ IL stint this morning and gave the reason as a “flexor strain” in his throwing elbow. Cortes looked healthy and was effective in his last outing on Thursday, but this is the injury that kept him out down the stretch of last season. There is no indication of how severe Cortes’ strain is, but these injuries tend to last several weeks on the low end and several months on the high end, and it’s an injury that can lead to Tommy John surgery. We’ll hope for the best and keep an eye out for news, but don’t expect Cortes to return to the Brewers’ rotation anytime soon.
With only Peralta available from the top seven of Milwaukee’s preferred starters, the Brewers may need to consider external options. Jose Quintana should be able to join the rotation soon, and Aaron Ashby and Aaron Civale will likely be available before the end of April, but this injury means the Brewers are going to be very dependent on Chad Patrick and Tyler Alexander, two starters who were good in their latest starts but have either a spotty major league history (Alexander) or no major league history (Patrick).
Jacob Misiorowski could be an option, too; he threw 3 2⁄3 scoreless, hitless innings last night, but he also walked four batters, showing the extremes of the Miz experience. The Brewers would surely like to leave him in the minors longer, as his walks are going to lead to some real inconsistency and pain in the majors, even if he will routinely look unhittable. Given the lack of short-term options, though, fate may force the team’s hand.
For now, Cortes will be replaced on the roster by the 28-year-old lefty Grant Wolfram, who the Brewers signed as a free agent this offseason. Wolfram has appeared in two games for Triple-A Nashville this season; he has three strikeouts, four walks, and two runs allowed in three innings. He spent last season in the Texas Rangers’ system, where he had a 3.13 ERA in 60 1⁄3 innings out of the bullpen. Whenever he makes his first appearance for the Brewers, it will be his major league debut.
Update: Hogg has a comment from Cortes on how he perceives the severity of the injury:
Nestor Cortes on his concern level of the elbow flexor strain:
“Pretty low. I think with the small break here I’ll feel a lot better and hopefully if there’s inflammation, the inflammation will go down and if there’s strength thing to do, we get that and hopefully I’m back sooner rather than later.”— Curt Hogg (@cyrthogg.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T16:24:54.899Z
That’s pretty vague, it isn’t by any means official, and it still doesn’t give us a great idea of a timeline, but I guess you’d file it under “better than a high concern level.”