Brewers catch a huge break after Jose Quintana's latest injury update

Following the Milwaukee Brewers' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Sunday's series finale, manager Pat Murphy revealed to team insiders that veteran starting pitcher José Quintana, who tossed just 67 pitches in the Crew's losing effort, suffered a calf injury on his final play of the game.

On Sunday night, signs indicated that Quintana was going to miss at least his next start while recovering from the injury. Murphy described the injury as "alarming" in his postgame presser, and Quintana reportedly left the ballpark in a boot, which did not bode well for the 36-year-old southpaw who has been a steady piece of Milwaukee's starting rotation all season.

However, following a Monday off-day, the penultimate rest day that the Crew will receive before the end of the regular season, Quintana is reportedly doing much better and could even be in line to make his next start, as reported by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy on the social media platform X.

As McCalvy notes, it took playing catch to determine just how good Quintana truly is feeling, but everything seemingly went well for the veteran starter, and the team now turns their attention to how they will approach his next start, which, assuming regular rest, would come over the weekend in St. Louis.

José Quintana's calf injury not as serious as initially thought, could potentially make his next start

While Quintana likely won't start one of the Brewers' first three playoff games, with Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Quinn Priester being the leading candidates for those contests, losing the veteran southpaw to an injury with two weeks left in the regular season would have been detrimental to the team's chances at the National League's top seed and their ability to provide days off for the rest of their pitching staff down the stretch.

Despite Quintana having a shaky month of September, with a 5.82 ERA in three starts, the 14-year MLB vet has been exactly what the Brew Crew needed at the back-end of their rotation this year. He holds a 3.96 season ERA through 24 starts and has consistently given the Brewers a chance to win in a majority of his starts.

Additionally, his veteran presence in the dugout has been a huge help for the team's otherwise inexperienced pitching staff. With Quintana, Peralta, and Woodruff, three pitchers who have been through thick and thin in the major leagues, guiding young starters like Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, and Chad Patrick, 2025 has been another highly successful season for the Brewers' starting rotation.

As mentioned by McClavy, the team now faces a decision about how to proceed with Quintana. Should he remain healthy down the stretch, Quintana will almost certainly be included on the team's postseason roster; whether that's in a starting role or as a long reliever is still to be determined, but the fact remains that the Brewers need to be careful with their veteran down the stretch. With more postseason experience than any other starter on the Brewers' roster, Quintana's arm and his wisdom will both be important for the Brew Crew in October.