Last season, the Milwaukee Brewers initial starting rotation consisted of Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, Joe Ross, Jakob Junis, and DL Hall. When Milwaukee kicks off the 2025 MLB season later this month, only one of those players will be in this year’s starting rotation, and only two of them are still with the team.
Peralta was named the Opening Day starter weeks ago by manager Pat Murphy, and Hall is still on the team (though also currently on the 60-day injured list). Rea signed with the Chicago Cubs after being non-tendered by Milwaukee, Junis was traded to the Cincinnati Reds last year and has since signed with the Cleveland Guardians, and Ross signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Last season, the Brewers used 17 different starters/openers due to the vast amount of injuries suffered by the rotation. This year, they hope that they will need fewer, but injuries are an inevitable part of the game. As such, they have done their best to ensure they have plenty of pitchers capable of starting games, and on Saturday announced who the first two will be.
The Milwaukee Brewers Will Start Freddy Peralta and Nestor Cortes in Their First Two Games
As stated earlier, Peralta was named the Brewers Opening Day starter weeks ago. However, the rest of the starting rotation is still taking shape. On Saturday, Adam McCalvy revealed who Milwaukee will send out in their second game of the season’s opening series against the New York Yankees:
Freddy Peralta and Nestor Cortes are penciled in to start the first two games of the regular season for the Brewers. Then TBD between Aaron Civale and Tobias Myers for the third game at Yankee Stadium and the home opener vs. KC.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 15, 2025
Nestor Cortes, of course, was acquired by the Brewers from the Yankees in the trade that shipped two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams to New York.
Last season, Cortes was 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while pitching for the Yankees. Notably, he was 5-5 with a 3.11 ERA at Yankee Stadium in 2024. In four seasons with New York, he was 14-7 with a 2.83 ERA while pitching at home.
As seen in McCalvy’s post, the third and fourth starters are going to be Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale, though which one will be the third man in the rotation remains to be seen. Whoever does not start the finale against the Yankees will be the starting pitcher in Milwaukee’s home opener.
The fifth starter could be Jose Quintana, though he signed with the team late and may not be ready by the time the first home series comes around. Another option could be Brandon Woodruff, who pitches in his first Cactus League game on Sunday.
Woodruff’s availability for the start of the season, though, is still up in the air as he returns from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the entire 2024 campaign. The fact that he is able to make an appearance in an actual Spring Training game, and not just a minor league one, is a great sign that he is progressing.
However, both he and the club have declined to put a date on when he will make his first regular season appearance.
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