The Brewers' bullpen is suddenly missing this early-season strength

Entering the 2026 season, the Milwaukee Brewers possessed an unusually deep collection of left-handed relievers. The group included multi-inning options such as Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, and Shane Drohan, high-leverage arms like Jared Koenig and Ángel Zerpa, and a promising middle-relief option in Rob Zastryzny.

At times, Milwaukee certainly had more viable southpaws available than right-handed relievers, giving the club an enviable strength that is rare in today's game. However, as the season has progressed, that script has flipped, as injuries have decimated the Brewers' left-handed relief group.

The first members of Milwaukee's left-handed relief corps to be sidelined this season were Zastryzny and Koenig. Zastryzny dealt with shoulder issues during Spring Training and an intercostal muscle strain during his rehab process. He finally worked his way back onto the major league roster on May 31, only to be sidelined again by a trapezius strain just a few days later.

Koenig's situation unfolded differently, as he never appeared fully healthy during camp and eventually landed on the injured list with a left elbow sprain -- an injury that looked rather bleak for the high-leverage weapon at the time. Fortunately for the Brewers, Koenig is now nearing a return following a minor league rehab assignment -- a development that comes at an opportune time given the club's growing number of injuries on the left-handed side of the bullpen.

Meanwhile, Zerpa, a promising reliever who boosted his stock in the World Baseball Classic after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals in the offseason, is out of the remainder of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early May. Given his contract situation, his tenure in Milwaukee could possibly be over already.

More recently, Hall was forced to exit an appearance against the Giants and landed on the IL with a left pectoral strain prior to last night's series opener with the Colorado Rockies. However, the hits didn't stop there. With Drohan filling in for the injured trio of starters in the Brewers' rotation, Brian Fitzpatrick, who was called upon to replace Hall in the Brewers' bullpen, went down with an injury while warming up for his second frame in last night's game, and appears likely to land on the IL prior to tonight's contest.

Brian Fitzpatrick's devastating injury further hurts Brewers' sudden lack of left-handed relief pitching depth

Fitzpatrick was first in relief for the Brewers last night, following Brandon Sproat's five-inning outing in which he allowed three earned runs. The left-hander was excellent in the sixth inning, inducing a softly hit ground ball and lazy fly ball before freezing Sterlin Thompson with a fastball for a called strike three.

However, while Fitzpatrick was warming up for the seventh inning, the rookie southpaw experienced an elbow injury and had to be removed from the game. Fitzpatrick was visibly shaken by the injury, and after the game, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the left-hander felt something pop in his left elbow, which suggests he will be out for quite a while.

It's a devastating development for Fitzpatrick and the Brewers. The former was in the midst of a promising debut campaign and was a necessary addition to Milwaukee's 'pen given the swath of injuries to the rest of their left-handed pitching depth. The Brewers, meanwhile, are left scrambling to fill Fitzpatrick's spot in the bullpen, which only just opened up for the young left-hander yesterday afternoon.

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