Brewers injury news: Brandon Woodruff nearing a return, Quinn Priester's rehab paused

Prior to a three-game series at the hitters' paradise of Las Vegas Ballpark against the Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation was on a roll. Said rotation posted a better ERA during the month of May than any other starting staff in baseball. Led by the formidable duo of Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison, both of whom are squarely in the middle of All-Star conversations, the Brewers' rotation has been stellar of late, and the team is winning games as a result.

However, what makes the Brewers' starting rotation's recent success, the asterisk-riddled Las Vegas Ballpark series excluded, even more impressive is the fact that Milwaukee's starters are producing head-turning results while three key arms reside on the injured list. 2025 breakout starter Quinn Priester has been on the shelf all season due to a frustrating thoracic outlet syndrome-related injury that causes intermittent pain throughout his right arm. Meanwhile, Brandon Woodruff's rehab process from a "dead arm" incident back in late April has taken much longer than expected. Pair those two injuries with the fact that Logan Henderson has been on the IL since late May with a lower back injury, and the Brewers' rotation's recent results become unbelievable.

While Henderson's estimated return timeline remains "early July" with no new update over the last week, the Brewers have offered new reports on both Woodruff and Priester's statuses. One certainly falls in the "good news" category, but the other certainly does not.

Brandon Woodruff could return to Brewers' rotation during upcoming homestand

The initial feeling regarding Woodruff's placement on the IL back in late April was that the Brewers' veteran right-hander wouldn't be away from the team for too long. In fact, initial reports indicated that Woodruff would only need a few bullpen sessions before returning to Milwaukee's rotation. However, fast forward nearly seven weeks, and that certainly hasn't been the case.

Woodruff's timeline was pushed back several times, and the veteran right-hander did end up making a rehab start in the Arizona Complex League. Though the results weren't great for Woodruff during his start with the Brewers' Rookie Ball affiliate -- three earned runs in 3.2 innings -- the 33-year-old hurler did toss 68 pitches, experienced four "ups", and maintained serviceable fastball velocity in the low 90s. Apparently, the outing was exactly what the Brewers were hoping to see as, according to MLB.com's Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy, Woodruff will be joining the Brewers in Milwaukee for their upcoming homestand and could make his return during the team's three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Brewers have a pair of options when it comes to who Woody will replace in the big-league rotation. Milwaukee has already announced that Misiorowski, Shane Drohan, and Harrison will start the team's three games against the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, so that leaves Brandon Sproat, Coleman Crow, and Robert Gasser as candidates to be replaced by the veteran Woodruff. Reviewing the Brew's Tyler Koerth ran through each of those three starters' arguments for remaining in the rotation when Woody returns in the article that is linked below. Be sure to check it out.

What Brewers' rotation should look like after Brandon Woodruff's return from IL

Quinn Priester's season takes a bleak turn as Brewers' right-hander is once again removed from rehab assignment

It's been an incredibly frustrating 2026 season for 25-year-old Quinn Priester. The Brewers' right-hander, who was one of their top starters during the 2025 season, has tirelessly tried to rehab through his thoracic outlet syndrome-related injury, but to no avail. Priester goes through phases of feeling healthy and pain-free, which leads to encouraging stretches during which he's made a number of rehab appearances.

However, those rehab appearances simply haven't gone well for Priester. A lack of command, which suggests he has no feel for his pitches amidst his frustrating nerve injury, has been the main driver of Priester's discouraging results. In his most recent outing -- a 2.2-inning start in the Arizona Complex League -- Priester walked five batters, hit one with a pitch, and allowed three earned runs.

The Brewers announced earlier today that Priester has once again been removed from his rehab assignment and placed back on the injured list -- a sign that the organization may be considering shutting Priester down for the rest of the season and focusing on ensuring he's healthy for the 2027 campaign. It would certainly be a tough pill for the Brewers, who were counting on Priester being a key part of their rotation in 2026, to swallow, but one that might be necessary to preserve the talented, young right-hander's long-term value.

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