Brewers lose promising starter to thoracic outlet syndrome in injury blow

The Brewers are losing a key piece of their rotation.The team announced that righty pitcher Quinn Priester will undergo season-ending thoracic outlet decompression surgery on Monday.He hadn’t appeared in a game for the Brewers in 2026 since his symptoms began in spring training, and now he will remain absent from the big leagues until 2027.

Priester said he hopes to be ready for spring training come February.Priester pitched in eight games in the minors in a rehab effort, but recorded a 15.75 ERA in a mere 16 innings while walking 24 batters.The 25-year-old was a highlight for the 2025 Brewers, posting a 3.32 ERA with a 13-3 record in 157 ⅓ innings.Priester flourished in his first season in Milwaukee after struggling to stay consistent in two seasons in Pittsburgh and Boston.Priester has high familiarity with the surgery.

His uncle Paul is a vascular surgeon in Philadelphia and performs the surgery Priester will get next week.“I’ve leaned on him a little bit for educating me on this whole thing,” Priester said of his uncle.“It is really nice.

He actually does the surgery.”Priester had tried several tactics to ease his symptoms before resorting to surgery, including nerve-blockers, anti-inflammatories, massaging, posture adjustment, and other methods.Ultimately, surgery made the most sense, and Priester is thankful to be getting it at a time where there is more clarity surrounding thoracic outlet syndrome.“Ten years ago this was a little bit more of a question mark,” he said.

“But now as things progress like anything in the medical field, I feel really, really confident that we’re going to come back even better.”...