Cortes (elbow strain) lands on 15-day IL, calls concern level 'pretty low'

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers have already seen a majority of their starting pitching options hit the shelf. They’ve now added one more to the list.

Sunday morning, the team announced it had placed starter Nestor Cortes, acquired via trade from the Yankees in December, on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow flexor strain. To take his place on the active roster, the Brewers recalled left-hander Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Nashville.

Cortes made his first start of the season March 29, giving up eight runs (including five home runs) in two innings against the Yankees in the Bronx. Bouncing back afterward was tough for him, though.

Milwaukee assistant general manager Matt Kleine said Cortes’ elbow “started feeling a little scratchy” earlier last week. Imaging was done, and the team compared it to imaging done after the trade -- during the offseason, Cortes rehabbed from a similar injury suffered toward the end of the 2024 regular season -- but “it didn't show any significant changes.”

“I was like, I feel something, but I don't know what it is,” Cortes said. “I'm still going out there, I'm throwing, I threw my bullpen -- everything as normal. They wanted to see if there was something alarming, so I don't make my start [Thursday], but I feel like they saw what it was and didn't feel like it was going to hurt me.”

Cortes said he still did not feel great leading up to Thursday, but felt good enough to make his start against the Reds. That night, he tossed six scoreless innings and struck out six to earn his first Brewers win.

However, on Friday, he felt more sore than usual. The elbow did not improve Saturday, so he alerted the medical team. The group determined he should not make his next start.

Cortes dealt with a left elbow flexor strain last season that put him on the injured list on Sept. 25. He managed to recover enough in time to pitch in the World Series for the Yankees. He could not say for sure whether or not the injuries were related, though it does “feel sort of similar to what I had.”

“I think between me and the medical staff, we've had good communications,” Cortes said, “just because, obviously, once I got traded, I got an MRI in the offseason, and then going through the whole rehab process during the offseason kind of gave us a better idea of where I stood with the arm. I mean, we did a really good job in Spring Training, so it sucks that we're here now.”

Kleine said the Brewers are still in the information-gathering stage and felt it was too early to determine if Cortes will need a rehabilitation assignment.

He did say the team believes this situation looks “more like a short-term issue than a long-term issue,” though there is currently no timeline set. As for Cortes, who will likely seek a second opinion, he described his concern level at the moment as “pretty low.”

“I think with a small break here, it'll feel a lot better,” he said. “Hopefully, if there's inflammation, the inflammation goes down, and if there's strengthening to do, we get that. And hopefully, I'm back sooner rather than later.”

Obviously, this is another hit to Milwaukee’s starting pitching depth. As it stood Sunday morning, Freddy Peralta was the only planned starter remaining.

Tobias Myers (left oblique discomfort), Aaron Civale (left hamstring cramping), Aaron Ashby (right oblique strain) and DL Hall (left lat strain) are recovering from injuries. Meanwhile, major surgeries still have Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder) and Robert Gasser (Tommy John) on the shelf. Jose Quintana also needed extra time to ramp up after signing on March 5.

Wolfram is not a one-for-one replacement for Cortes. He has yet to make his Major League debut, and he has started one game in the Minors over the last four seasons.

But with injuries hitting the Brewers’ staff hard early in the year, the hope is he can help cover some innings.

“Look, Murph [manager Pat Murphy] has said this before: We're an organization of opportunity,” Kleine said. “This is why we work all offseason to get as much depth into the organization as we possibly can. Obviously, it's being tested a little bit right now, but that's really no different than any other season.”