Former All-Star pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. had a rocky debut with the Milwaukee Brewers, surrendering three consecutive home runs on his first three pitches of the 2025 season. The 30-year-old was facing his former team in the Bronx, adding to the sting of the performance. However, Cortes bounced back impressively in his next outing, delivering six scoreless innings and striking out six batters in a 1-0 win against the Cincinnati Reds. Unfortunately, the encouraging outing was followed by bad news: Cortes was placed on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain in his left elbow, the same injury that kept him out of action in September of last year.
This setback marks another blow to Milwaukee’s already-depleted pitching rotation. Cortes is now the seventh Brewers starter sidelined due to injury, joining Brandon Woodruff, Tobias Myers, Aaron Civale, DL Hall, Robert Gasser, and Aaron Ashby. The growing list of injuries has left the team scrambling for solutions.
To fill Cortes’ roster spot, the Brewers called up left-hander Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Nashville. Wolfram, drafted in the 18th round in 2018, spent his entire career in the Texas Rangers organization before joining Milwaukee. He is now set to make his major league debut. In the meantime, Rule 5 draft pick Connor Thomas is expected to step into the rotation for a few starts. Wolfram will likely be used out of the bullpen, while swingmen Tyler Alexander, Elvin Rodriguez, and Chad Patrick are also expected to pitch in and help manage the load during this tough stretch.
The news of Cortes’ injury sparked a variety of fan reactions on social media, with many expressing concern over the team’s mounting health issues. The loss comes at a tough time for the Brewers, who had been gaining momentum with four wins in their last six games. The team now faces the challenge of maintaining that progress despite a shrinking pool of healthy arms.
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