The Brewers placed right-hander Coleman Crow on the 15-day injured list on Friday (retroactive to June 10) due to right forearm flexor strain. Right-hander Craig Yoho was called up from Triple-A Nashville in the corresponding move.
The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, and the lighter variety of such flexor injuries would see Crow return to action in under a month. Beyond that best-case scenario, it isn’t out of the question that Crow’s 2026 season could be in jeopardy, especially given his past history of arm troubles. A Tommy John surgery cost Crow almost all of the 2023-24 seasons, and he was limited to 50 minor league innings in 2025 due to hip problems and another flexor strain.
It seemed like Crow had put his injury woes behind him when the righty made his MLB debut earlier this season. Crow has been called up to the majors three times in his rookie year — twice to make spot starts, and his last three appearances have consisted of two starts and a two-inning relief outing. This appearance out of the pen last Tuesday marked Crow’s last game before his flexor strain surfaced.
Crow has a 5.30 ERA and a tiny 11.8% strikeout rate to show for his 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues. On the plus side, his walk rate is a solid 7.1%, and his ERA was somewhat inflated by a particularly rough outing (six ER over 2 1/3 innings) against the Giants on June 4. While Crow’s time in the majors is a small sample size, the lack of punchouts is unusual considering the righty’s much more respectable 25.39K% over 299 1/3 career minor league frames in the Angels and Brewers farm systems.
Milwaukee has soared to a 42-25 record despite a number of pitching injuries, and Crow’s absence removes another rotation candidate from the mix. Brandon Woodruff (shoulder inflammation) has started a minor league rehab assignment and is expected to be back sometime in June, while Logan Henderson (back strain) is still a few weeks away. Quinn Priester‘s status remains up in the air, as the right-hander again had his rehab assignment put on hold as Priester continues to struggle in his recover from thoracic outlet syndrome.
Jacob Misiorowski‘s brilliance has helped carry the shorthanded Brewers rotation, and Kyle Harrison has also looked great in his first season in Milwaukee. Brandon Sproat has at least contributed 60 innings but with a 5.70 ERA, and Robert Gasser has a 6.38 ERA over 18 1/3 frames as a starter this season. Shane Drohan is slated to make his fourth start of the season today, and the rookie southpaw has looked pretty good in delivering a 3.11 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate in his first 37 2/3 innings in the big leagues (with 10 bullpen appearances along with his three starts).
The situation should improve itself once Woodruff and Henderson are back, and it could be that Crow’s flexor strain isn’t too serious. The Brewers have a knack for finding and developing rotation help from within, but if depth is still an issue in a month’s time, Milwaukee could consider adding a veteran innings-eater at the trade deadline.
