Brewers Lose Angel Zerpa to Potentially 'Lengthy Absence'

The Milwaukee Brewers hurler is heading to the Injured List at this moment.

Apr 25, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Angel Zerpa (61) throws a pitch during the tenth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers' bullpen lost a piece to the Injured list on Wednesday.

Veteran lefty Ángel Zerpa was placed on the 15-Day Injured List due to left forearm tightness and fellow left-handed hurler was promoted in his place, as shared by the team.

Today's transactions pic.twitter.com/aruNs22s8M

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 29, 2026

Zerpa came over to Milwaukee this past offseason in the deal that sent Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals.

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Apr 17, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Angel Zerpa (61) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2026 season has been anything but smooth for the 26-year-old lefty. He has pitched in 12 games so far this season for Milwaukee and has a 6.39 ERA to show for it. This comes after he logged a 4.18 ERA last season for the Royals across 69 total appearances. The best season of his career so far was in 2024 when he had a 3.86 ERA across 60 outings for Milwaukee, to go along with a 40-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 53 2/3 innings pitched.

Todd Rosiak of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that there is "significant" concern about Zerpa's injury.

"There is significant concern about Angel Zerpa’s left forearm tightness," More testing, a second opinion up next but manager Pat Murphy says it’s likely to be a lengthy absence."

With Zerpa heading to the Injured List, Milwaukee is going to get its first look at Fitzpatrick in the big leagues. He was selected by the Brewers in the 10th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft and has been working his way through Milwaukee's farm system ever since. He made it all the way up to Triple-A Nashville in 2025 and kicked off the 2026 season there as well. Before his promotion on Wednesday, Fitzpatrick had made 10 starts down in Triple-A and hadn't allowed an earned run while logging an 11-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 1/3 innings pitched.

Milwaukee's bullpen has been average so far this season. The Brewers currently rank 14th in baseball with a 3.95 bullpen ERA. That's in part because of Zerpa struggling for the club. With him on the Injured List, this will be an opportunity for Fitzpatrick to show what he can do and also potentially be an addition by subtraction for the Brewers overall. At some point, Zerpa will play a solid role for Milwaukee, but clearly something has been up with him so far this season. He hasn't pitched at the same level that he did while over with Kansas City.

In a perfect world, Fitzpatrick will thrive over the next few weeks and Zerpa won't miss much time. As of right now, it's unknown exactly how much time he will miss, but more information will be shared as it is provided.