Brewers news: Joel Kuhnel injury update, Coleman Crow rehab assignment, Brian Fitzpatrick surgery

The Milwaukee Brewers' placement of veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the IL on Sunday morning was certainly the most notable injury news to come out of the weekend for the Brew Crew. Woody, who missed nearly two months starting in late April with shoulder inflammation, was placed back on the IL with the same injury earlier today after experiencing a similar "dead arm" incident to the one he endured earlier this year.

Woodruff's injury creates questions not only about how the Brewers will cover their eight games in seven days leading up to the All-Star Break, but also about how they will approach the trade deadline now that Woody's long-term availability is far less certain.

However, while Woodruff's disheartening injury understandably grabbed the headlines after Milwaukee's July 4th contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks, there were several other pieces of injury news, some good, some bad, that surfaced for the Brewers during the holiday weekend.

Joel Kuhnel's shoulder impingement not expected to be a long-term injury

The first Brewers injury news of the weekend arrived on Saturday afternoon, when Milwaukee placed right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel, who they acquired from the Athletics for cash considerations last month, on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement. Kuhnel has posted a 6.52 ERA while allowing six walks and four home runs in 10 appearances out of the Brewers' bullpen.

Though Kuhnel showed flashes of dominance with the Athletics earlier in the season, it's been a struggle for the 31-year-old right-hander since joining the Brew Crew, and prior to his placement on the IL, he had allowed earned runs in three consecutive appearances. Even still, the Brewers banged-up pitching staff needs arms like Kuhnel who can cover lower-leverage situations, with the potential to become a high-leverage arm if everything clicks. Thankfully, Kuhnel's shoulder impingement doesn't sound like it will keep him away from the mound for a long time. As reported by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kuhnel's injury "is considered minor."

Right-hander Craig Yoho replaced Kuhnel in the Brewers' bullpen and impressed with his performance on Saturday night. Tasked with keeping last night's game close after Woodruff departed in the fourth inning, Yoho covered eight outs without allowing a single batter to reach. He tallied one strikeout and allowed just two hard-hat balls, both of which turned into outs, in what was his most encouraging outing of the season thus far.

Coleman Crow tosses three shutout innings in first start of rehab assignment

With Woodruff landing on the IL, the pressure is on for players like Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson, and Coleman Crow to step up and fill the void left by the veteran right-hander. While Gasser and Henderson appear likely to pitch in this week's series against the St. Louis Cardinals, despite the former being optioned to the minor leagues last week and the latter still residing on the injured list, Crow's return to the rotation before the All-Star break is still in question.

The 25-year-old Crow, whose rookie season was off to a strong start outside of one poor outing against the San Francisco Giants, landed on the IL with a minor flexor strain back on June 12. Crow wasn't expected to miss an extended period of time when he landed on the IL, and he's living up to that prognosis after beginning a rehab assignment less than one month after his IL stint began. Pitching for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds last night, Crow recorded three scoreless innings, and allowed just one hit and two walks in the process. He threw 53 pitches and collected three strikeouts.

The Brewers seemingly weren't planning on having Crow rejoin the big-league rotation prior to the All-Star Break, but that was before Woodruff landed on the IL. It still feels unlikely that Crow's next start will come in the major leagues, but with eight games in seven days before the break, it's possible the Brewers call on Crow to make an appearance next weekend.

Rookie southpaw Brian Fitzpatrick undergoes Tommy John surgery after partial UCL sprain

Among the six players to make their MLB debuts with the Brewers in 2026 is southpaw Brian Fitzpatrick, who kicked off his major league career back on April 29. The 26-year-old left-handed reliever got off to a strong start in the big leagues, allowing just one earned run in his first 6.2 innings pitched.

However, while warming up for the second inning of an outing against the Colorado Rockies on June 5, during Fitzpatrick's second stint with the big-league club, the rookie southpaw felt a pop in his left elbow and was later diagnosed with a partial sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Over the last few weeks, Fitzpatrick was deciding between surgery and trying to rehab the injury without going under the knife. As reported by Hogg in the post above, Fitzpatrick ultimately opted for the former and underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week.

It's obviously a tough setback for the young left-hander, but rehabbing through significant elbow injuries seldom yields the results players are hoping for. Fitzpatrick now begins the lengthy rehab process, which, if all goes well, could have him back to pitching for the Brewers in the later months of the 2027 season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow