Brewers have a clear plan when Logan Henderson returns to the rotation

After turning in an impressive performance in his first start of a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Milwaukee Brewers' starter Logan Henderson will likely need just one more start in the minors before rejoining the major league rotation. Henderson is rehabbing from a lower back strain that has kept him away from a big-league mound since late May.

Prior to the injury, Henderson was following up his strong debut season, during which he posted a 1.78 ERA in five starts, with another impressive showing in 2026. The 24-year-old right-hander boasted a 2.74 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP in five starts scattered across late April and the first three weeks of May. Henderson played an important role filling in for injured veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff during that stretch.

Over the weekend, Henderson made his first rehab start with Nashville, and it truly could not have gone much better. In 3.0+ innings, Henderson struck out seven, before giving up a softly-hit single and a walk to start the fourth inning. Theo DeRosa of MLB.com reports that his fastball velocity was well in line with his season average. After tossing 50 pitches during the start, Henderson will build up to 65-70 pitches in his next outing on Friday before hopefully rejoining the Brewers during their five-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals next week.

Henderson's imminent return and the ongoing strength of Milwaukee's current starting group create questions about what their rotation will look like going forward, but there's a clear path that the Brewers should take.

Brewers should utilize a six-man rotation prior to the All-Star Break before sending two southpaws to the bullpen for the second half

The Brewers are in the midst of a 27 games in 27 days stretch leading up to the midseason break. While the starting rotation has been lights out during the stretch up to this point, the increased workload has certainly taken a toll on the Brewers' bullpen. On several occasions, Milwaukee's "B bullpen" group has been asked to cover high-leverage situations and produced rather concerning results in those moments. Thankfully, while Henderson's return to the rotation won't directly help the bullpen, the ripple effects of his addition to the starting staff should help the Brewers' relief corps.

Prior to Tuesday afternoon, the Brewers were utilizing a starting rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Brandon Woodruff, Brandon Sproat, Robert Gasser, and Shane Drohan. Before last night's game, the Brewers optioned Gasser to the minor leagues, in a savvy move that allows them to add another arm to their bullpen, while still having Gasser start one of their two games against the St. Louis Cardinals next Tuesday. Given the roster constraints involved with optioning a player to the minor leagues, next Tuesday's presumed start in St. Louis will be Gasser's last before the All-Star break, unless an injury were to occur in the meantime.

With Drohan scheduled to start tonight and Misiorowski set to throw tomorrow's series finale, the Brewers will likely turn to Harrison, Woodruff, and Sproat on four days' rest for their weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That leaves Drohan to start Monday's opener in St. Louis, Gasser and Misiorowski for the doubleheader, and then an opportunity for Henderson to slot back in on Wednesday. With that schedule, every pitcher, including Henderson, remains on normal, four-day rest throughout the grueling stretch. Should the Brewers want to give their regular starters an extra day of rest for the series in St. Louis, they could give a start to newcomer Garrett Stallings, though his services will likely be more impactful in the bullpen.

Things start to get really interesting for the Brewers' pitching staff after the All-Star Break. Assuming Milwaukee elects to roll with a five-man rotation, which they almost certainly will, Miz, Harrison, Woodruff, Henderson, and Sproat are likely to be the quintet they rely on. That leaves Drohan and Gasser to join the bullpen, which would offer some much-needed help to Milwaukee's taxed relief corps. However, much like the first half of the season, Drohan, Gasser, and Coleman Crow for that matter, are likely to earn spot starts here and there to offer relief to Milwaukee's regular starting staff.

With Drohan and Gasser presumably in the 'pen during the second half of July, the Brewers' calculus at the trade deadline changes slightly. However, Milwaukee will still almost certainly need at least one addition to their bullpen before the August 3 trade deadline. With Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill already at the back-end of their 'pen and arms like Chad Patrick, Drohan, and Gasser covering the middle innings, Milwaukee has the chance to build an elite relief corps at the deadline this year.

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