Injury to Brewers' veteran starter leaves late-season rotation picture in question

After an exciting and emotional Saturday night that saw the Milwaukee Brewers clinch their seventh postseason berth of the last eight seasons, the team understandably turned in a lackluster loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Despite having several opportunities to pull off another comeback win, the Crew ultimately lost 3-2 to their heated division rivals. Thankfully, the Philadelphia Phillies, who clinched a spot in the postseason on Sunday due to the San Francisco Giants' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, were defeated by the Kansas City Royals, meaning Milwaukee's quest for the National League's top seed was not negatively impacted.

However, while the Phillies didn't make up any ground in the National League standings on Sunday afternoon, the Brewers were dealt a different piece of bad news. Veteran southpaw José Quintana sustained a calf injury while covering first base. As reported by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Quintana received an MRI on Sunday night to determine the severity of the injury.

While it's not yet confirmed whether or not Quintana's injury will cause him to miss time due to a stint on the IL, Hunter Baumgardt, the Brewers reporter for 97.3 The Game, posted on the social media platform X that Quintana left the stadium on Sunday night in a boot, which doesn't bode well for the veteran southpaw's chances of making his next start.

With the Brewers' pitching staff already shorthanded — relievers Trevor Megill, Nick Mears, and DL Hall remain on the injured list — an injury to their starting rotation could further complicate Pat Murphy's ability to ensure that his pitchers enter the postseason well-rested while continuing to keep the Brewers' foot on the pedal in the race for the NL's top seed.

José Quintana's calf injury expected to shake up Brewers' late-season rotation plans

While the Brewers remain locked in on the top seed in the postseason, the team has already begun making changes to their pitching staff in order to give extra rest to their starters down the stretch. Last week, the team elected to have Chad Patrick make a spot start against the Texas Rangers to give their rotation regulars an extra day off. Then, prior to this weekend's series with the Cardinals, Murphy shuffled things around to give Brandon Woodruff a bit more rest, moving his next start back to Wednesday after he had been lined up to start on Saturday night.

With Quintana likely headed to the IL, it will be much more difficult for Murphy to toe the line between giving his pitchers enough rest to keep them fresh for the playoffs and maintaining the team's shrinking lead over the Phillies for the top seed. While finding a replacement for Quintana won't necessarily be an issue — the Brewers currently have three arms in their bullpen capable of starting games in Tobias Myers, Erick Fedde, and Chad Patrick — what will be more difficult is covering the innings that are lost out of the bullpen with one of those three slotting into a starter's role.

Luckily for the Brewers, as has been the case throughout the 20225 season, a solution to their issue is waiting in Nashville. Robert Gasser initially joined the Sounds roster as a starting pitcher following his return from the Tommy John surgery that he endured last summer, but seeing a need for more bullpen arms down the stretch, the organization elected to convert the 2024 breakout pitcher into a multi-inning reliever. Since making the switch to the bullpen, Gasser has made three appearances, covered 7.2 total innings, and allowed just one earned run while striking out seven. Additionally, with Gasser already on the team's 40-man roster, it would be seamless to have him replace Quintana on the big-league roster, should the latter require a stint on the IL.

Hopefully, Quintana's calf injury isn't too serious, and he can return to the Brewers' roster before the postseason. Despite being a little shaky in his last four starts, with seven career starts and 33 total innings pitched in the postseason, Quintana has the most playoff experience of any pitcher on the Brewers' staff. That familiarity with October baseball should not be underestimated.