Brewers' 2025 breakout starter seeking specialist's opinion on lingering injury

Heading into Spring Training, one of the few starting pitchers whose name was written in pen in Pat Murphy's Opening Day rotation was 2025 breakout righty Quinn Priester. After acquiring the former first-round pick from the Boston Red Sox during the second week of the 2025 season, the Milwaukee Brewers were the beneficiaries of Priester's breakout campaign. The 25-year-old Priester went 13-3 with a dazzling 3.32 ERA and cemented himself as a future staple of Milwaukee's rotation.

However, now two weeks removed from Opening Day, Priester has yet to begin his ramp-up to the 2026 campaign, and the reason is a lingering wrist injury that has plagued the right-hander since August of last year. Though initially the Brewers believed that any discomfort Priester was feeling in his wrist at the end of last season would be alleviated over the offseason, the 25-year-old continues to be hamstrung by pain in his right wrist that has prevented him from throwing on a consistent basis.

Without answers for what the injury might be and how long it is likely to keep him out of the starting rotation, the Brewers' and Priester have decided to gain the opinion of a specialist, as reported by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com on the social media platform X earlier today.

Quinn Priester heading to specialist to sort out lingering wrist injury with two weeks remaining before Opening Day

Any time an athlete "seeks out the opinion of a specialist," the fanbase collectively holds their breath. The development is generally reserved for major injuries, in which the player wants to avoid surgery by electing an alternative option that the opinion of a specialist might reveal. However, Priester's case feels a little different. Up to this point, no one has really been able to pinpoint exactly what the injury is, so it may just be that the Brewers and Priester simply need an answer, and there's no indication that said answer will reveal a significant injury.

Even still, the fact that Priester's injury didn't heal over the offseason and no one seemingly has an answer to what the exact problem is could be cause for concern. Opening Day is almost certainly off the table for Priester, who would have been the No. 2 starter behind Brandon Woodruff if everything went according to plan.

Now, the Brewers will turn to one of their many other rotation options at the beginning of the season, while they wait for Priester's wrist injury to be sorted out. While it's far from the ideal situation, what matters more than Priester being healthy at the beginning of the 2026 season is him being available at the end of the year. Therefore, it's encouraging that the Brewers are being cautious with their talented right-hander and doing whatever they can to sort out this frustrating injury.