Brewers' veteran southpaw set to begin another rehab assignment with 2026 debut still on the horizon

The Milwaukee Brewers' bullpen is ready for the All-Star break. Though the efforts of Milwaukee's starting pitchers have decreased the bullpen's workload as of late, the Brewers' relief corps has still been tasked with covering 331.1 innings this year, which is 12th most in all of baseball.

In regard to innings pitched, the Brewers' bullpen has finished the season in the top five in MLB in each of Pat Murphy's first two seasons as Milwaukee's skipper. The 2026 bullpen is on pace for just as many innings, so the Brewers' slip in the rankings is more a product of the rest of the league starting to use their bullpens more, rather than Murphy taking his foot off the gas this year.

Regardless of how much the Brewers' relievers have been asked to pitch this year, their recent performance certainly indicates that the upcoming break is much-needed. Through the first two months of the season, Milwaukee's relievers maintained a 3.25 ERA that ranked 7th-best in all of baseball. However, since the start of June, that number has slipped to 4.36, which ranks the Brewers' relief corps 15th in MLB during that stretch. For a team with World Series aspirations, who relies on their bullpen as much as the Brewers do, the relief corps' performance needs to be closer to where it was in April and May than where it fell to in June.

Thankfully, it's not only the break that should offer some relief to Milwaukee's 'pen. In addition to having four days off in 10 days' time, the Brewers are set to return several key arms to their pitching staff in the coming weeks. Starter Logan Henderson is expected to rejoin the team in St. Louis next week, and reliever DL Hall is on schedule to rejoin the Brewers' roster before the trade deadline.

However, there's another arm, who has yet to make his 2026 debut, that could be a huge boost to Milwaukee's bullpen, and he's set to begin a rehab assignment tonight. As first reported by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, southpaw Rob Zastryzny will toss a rehab outing in the Arizona Complex League tonight, suggesting his return to the Brewers' roster is nearing.

Rob Zastryzny set to kick off rehab assignment in Arizona Complex League tonight

It's been a frustrating few months for the 34-year-old Zastryzny. After being limited to just one appearance with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic due to shoulder soreness, Zastryzny was officially placed on the IL the day before Opening Day with a shoulder strain. While rehabbing for that injury, the veteran southpaw experienced an intercostal muscle strain that further delayed his return to the Brewers' roster.

On May 31, Zastryzny's return to the active roster arrived, after he turned in a dominant performance in Triple-A during his second rehab assignment of the season. However, before Rob Z could make an appearance with the Brewers' big-league club, he was placed back on the IL, this time with a left trapezius strain -- the muscle more commonly known as the "trap." That was back on June 3, and now exactly one month later, Zastryzny is set to return to the mound for his third rehab assignment of the year.

Notably, Zastryzny is pitching in the Arizona Complex League tonight rather than in Triple-A. The big-league club is in Arizona this weekend, which could mean that, if all goes well, Zastryzny could rejoin the bullpen as soon as Sunday, though it's more likely the Brewers will want him to get a few outings in before adding him back to their major league roster. As Milwaukee's stretch of 27 games in 27 days leading up to the All-Star break continues, Zastryzny would certainly be a welcome addition to the Brewers' relief corps.

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