Jose Quintana suffered a calf injury that led to his abbreviated start in the Brewers’ 3-2 loss to the Cardinals today. Manager Pat Murphy told media (including Hunter Baumgardt of 97.3 The Game radio) said Quintana was wearing a walking boot, and would undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage.
Quintana threw only 67 pitches today, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks over four innings of work. That final inning was a painful one for the veteran southpaw, as Quintana was hit by a Pedro Pages comebacker in the first at-bat of the frame, and Murphy said Quintana then hurt his calf while covering first base to record the final out.
More will be known once the MRI results are in, yet as Murphy put it, potentially losing Quintana would be “alarming, with how injured we already are in the bullpen and on the mound.” Milwaukee has seven pitchers currently on the injured list, including five members of the relief corps — Shelby Miller and Connor Thomas have both been lost to long-term UCL surgeries, while Logan Henderson won’t pitch for at least the rest of the regular season.
The tough outing against St. Louis gives Quintana a 7.40 ERA over his last four starts and 20 2/3 innings pitched. Though he tossed 184 2/3 innings for the Mets during the 2024 regular season and postseason, it could be that Quintana is starting to feel some fatigue down the stretch this year, after amassing 131 2/3 more frames in his 14th Major League seasons. It should be noted that Quintana didn’t sign with the Brewers until early March, and his season debut was held off until April 11 so the lefty could spend more time in extended Spring Training to make up for lost time in camp.
A calf injury now throws another wrench into the equation, leaving Quintana’s readiness in doubt for Milwaukee’s playoff roster. The Brewers have already clinched a postseason berth, are on the verge of clinching the NL Central title, and are on pace to claim a first-round bye, even if the Phillies remain in hot pursuit of the Brew Crew for the National League’s top seed. This gives the Brewers some flexibility and time to figure out their playoff pitching plans, and it may give Quintana more time to heal up if he does have to hit the injured list.
Given both his recent struggles and the Brewers’ list of other rotation options, Quintana was probably headed to a relief role in October anyway. Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Brandon Woodruff, and Jacob Misiorowski look to be Milwaukee’s top rotation options for the postseason, and Chad Patrick may also be ahead of Quintana on the rotation depth chart. Quintana has a 3.96 ERA over his 131 2/3 innings this season, but with a host of subpar Statcast numbers, indicating that Quintana is getting a lot of help from his .259 BABIP.