Injured Brewers starter makes surprise rehab start

Despite not being eligible to return from the 60-day IL until the end of May, DL Hall made the first start of his lengthy rehab process on Saturday afternoon. Hall was somewhat surprisingly included on the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Brewers' roster when it was announced on Saturday morning and was immediately thrown into action, starting the team's opener yesterday afternoon.

Hall went down with a left lat strain in early March, and not much had been reported on the status of his rehab process prior to him taking the mound for the Brewers' Rookie Ball affiliate. However, Hall didn't disappoint during his first in-game action of the 2025 season. He tossed two hitless innings, while striking out three batters and walking two. Hall's outing ended after just 31 pitches, but according to Adam McCalvy, the Brewers beat writer for MLB.com, the Brewers are still planning on building Hall up as a starter. After missing most of spring training, it's understandable that the organization is taking things slow with their electric lefty, who they acquired in the Corbin Burnes trade a season ago.

Brewers insider provides more Milwaukee Brewers pitching updates

McCalvy offered several more highly anticipated updates on the many Brewers pitchers currently on the injured list, through a post on the social media platform X.

Aaron Civale

Civale went down with a hamstring injury during his first start of the season against the New York Yankees. He surrendered five earned runs on three home runs before the injury presented itself and forced him to exit the game. While his start to the 2025 season was rocky, Civale, who the Brewers acquired in early July of 2024, posted a solid 3.53 ERA in his 14 starts with Milwaukee a season ago. With him starting his rehab assignment this week, it's possible that Civale could return to the Brewers' rotation before the end of the month, which could add some much-needed stability to the team's starting staff.

Nestor Cortes

After being acquired by the Brewers in the offseason trade of Devin Williams, Cortes was expected to be the team's No. 2 starter behind Freddy Peralta this season. However, after bouncing back from his rough first outing against his former team, the Yankees, with a six-inning one-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, Cortes hit the IL with a left elbow flexor strain. Concerningly, it's the same injury that caused Cortes to miss the end of the regular season and beginning of the postseason in 2024. Now, it appears that Cortes will be out at least until the All-Star break, leaving the Brewers without one of their top starters for more than half the season.

Aaron Ashby

Prior to Saturday's updates, Ashby was seemingly the closest injured Brewers pitcher to returning. Unlike Cortes and Hall, Ashby avoided the 60-day IL after going down with a right oblique strain during spring training. However, as McCalvy reports, he has yet to make a rehab start, and while other pitchers are scheduling theirs, the timing of Ashby's return remains unclear. Additionally, it's unclear whether that return will come as a starter or a reliever, but as his rehab process continues to stall, the likelihood of him coming out of the bullpen increases.

Connor Thomas

Finally, Thomas, who began the year as the Brewers’ long reliever in low-leverage situations, is throwing on a mound again after landing on the 15-day IL with left elbow arthritis in early April. Thomas was not off to a great start; he covered 5.1 innings and allowed 14 earned runs during the first week of the season. That equates to a 20.25 ERA. While Thomas, who is subject to the roster limitations of Rule-5 Draft picks, doesn't have a clear place on the Brewers’ current roster, he could serve as a valuable innings eater if he can keep the ball in the ballpark following his return.