Left-hander Thomas Pannone suffered a torn flexor tendon during the Brewers’ Cactus League game against the Guardians last Sunday. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes that Pannone won’t throw for at least a month while recovering, though surgery isn’t being considered at this time.
While it appears as though Pannone may have avoided the worst with his injury, it still erases whatever chance the southpaw had of making the Brewers’ Opening Day roster. Pannone is out of minor league options, so his inevitable placement on the injured list will at least allow him to stick in Milwaukee’s organization without being exposed to the waiver wire, even if a claim might be unlikely given Pannone’s current health concerns.
Pannone (who turns 31 in April) signed a minor league deal with the Brew Crew back in November, returning to the organization after previously pitching for Milwaukee during the 2023 campaign. Working mostly with Triple-A Nashville, Pannone had a 2.70 ERA in 53 1/3 innings in the minors, and he also tossed 2 2/2 innings in a single MLB game for the Brewers. That marked Pannone’s only big league appearance since 2019 when he was a member of the Blue Jays.
The Brewers released Pannone that July so he could sign with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (also his second KBO stint). Returning to North American baseball last winter, Pannone spent the 2024 season pitching with the Cubs’ and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates. With a 3.54 ERA over 152 1/3 combined innings at the Triple-A level last season, Pannone made a good accounting of himself, but he didn’t receive another call to the Show.
Even if Pannone was probably ticketed for a depth role in Nashville, his flexor tendon problem adds to the increasingly long list of injuries hitting Brewers starters this spring. Aaron Ashby will miss a couple of weeks recovering from an oblique strain, and a lat strain sent DL Hall to the 60-day injured list. Since Milwaukee is taking it easy with Brandon Woodruff as he returns from a season-long injury absence, the Brewers addressed the lack of starting depth by signing Jose Quintana to a one-year, $4.25MM guarantee earlier this week.
