Brewers’ Quinn Priester expects to miss at least first month

PHOENIX — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester expects to miss at least the first month of the season as he recovers from a nerve issue.

Priester had been dealing with an apparent wrist problem for much of the spring. Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters that Priester received a diagnosis indicating it was at least partially related to thoracic outlet syndrome.

The right-hander discussed with MLB.com and other reporters on Friday a potential timeline for his return.

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“I think in my head late April or May, but I certainly think I’m on the optimistic side — as a player, I want to be back as quick as possible,” Priester said. “Ultimately I’ll trust whatever the scheduling is there to make sure we do it right, so then we don’t run into anything else trying to rush it back.”

Priester, 25, said he was relieved that he finally knew exactly what was bothering him.

“I feel like we’ve kind of been dancing around what some of these issues were,” he said. “Just to have a clear path forward I think is really good.”

Priester had a breakthrough season last year after the Brewers acquired him from the Boston Red Sox in early April. He went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 29 appearances, including 24 starts. Priester won 12 straight decisions at one point, and the Brewers won 19 straight games (16 starts and three appearances following an opener) in which he pitched.

He couldn’t get out of the first inning of a Game 3 NL Division Series loss to the Chicago Cubs but pitched four scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

Now he will have to wait a while before getting back in a game again.

“It’s a long season,” Priester said. “It’s a marathon. So get back as fast as possible — but as smart as possible.”