MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester will undergo season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 months.
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a disorder that occurs when blood vessels or nerves in the space between the collarbone and first rib are compressed. That can lead to neck and shoulder pain, numbness or tingling in the fingers, and arm weakness.
Priester's thoracic outlet decompression surgery will be performed on Monday in Dallas by surgeon Dr. Gregory Pearl and will involve the removal of the first upper rib on the right side.
Priester said he hopes to compete for a rotation spot next spring.
“After doing all the things that we had gone through to try and fix this problem without surgery, we’ve just kind of gotten to a point where these things aren’t working, so we’re going to get surgery and make sure we clean this up and so that for the rest of my career this isn’t an issue,” Priester said before the Brewers game against Cleveland on Thursday.
The Brewers called Priester back from his minor league rehabilitation assignment on June 12 to evaluate the next steps in his recovery.
“I feel really confident that (I’m) going to come back even better,” Priester said.
Priester was a key cog in the team’s rotation a season ago when he went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 29 appearances, including 24 starts, for a team that made it to the National League Championship Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Priester was expected to play a major role again this season in a rotation that so far has been led by hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski and newcomer Kyle Harrison. Priester has not pitched in the majors this season.
Priester said he wanted “to check every box” before deciding on surgery.
The condition caused considerable control issues during the rehab stints, Priester said.
In five rehab games at Triple-A Nashville, two in Arizona and one at High-A Wisconsin, Priester had a 15.75 ERA and 2.88 WHIP in 16 innings, with 24 walks, 18 strikeouts, four hit batters and six wild pitches.
“When the brain and arm are communicating the right way because of the nerves that are pinching in there, it makes it nearly impossible to actually create a result that’s repeatable,” he said. “It was great that we had gotten the pain to go away with the nerve blocks, but essentially, we couldn’t alleviate all the symptoms.”
Priester said the full recovery time for the surgery is expected to be eight to 10 months, but the 25-year-old is confident he can beat the timeline.
“I’m still a pretty young guy that may be able to make that a little bit quicker, be diligent with the work and be ready to compete for a spot in spring training next year,” Priester said.
Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler underwent a successful thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September 2025 and made an earlier-than-expected return. Wheeler made his debut this season on April 25 and has a 6-1 record with a 2.01 ERA.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series, Oct. 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball owners proposed banning high school players from signing with major league teams, raising the age for international amateurs and slashing the money spent on signing bonuses in negotiations Thursday for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The amateur draft for players residing in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico would be cut from 20 rounds to 12 beginning in 2027 under the proposal Major League Baseball made during a bargaining session with the players' association. An identical 12-round draft would be started for international prospects, a proposal the union has rejected in the past.
Starting in 2028, a prospect for the amateur draft would have to be at least 20 years old by the Sept. 1 of his signing year and two years removed from the graduating year of his high school class — a restriction that also would eliminate players who completed their first year of junior college.
The amateur draft started in 1965, high schoolers have been eligible along with college players who are in or have just finished their junior years.
Raising signing ages would likely lead to players being older when they become eligible for free agency, which currently requires six years of major league service.
MLB cited increased revenue in college baseball as reasoning. In addition, MLB said 75% of high schoolers signed from 2012-19 did not reach the major leagues.
“Expanded scholarships, NIL opportunities, revenue sharing and significant investments in facilities and player development have made college baseball an increasingly important pathway that is producing major league-ready talent at an accelerated rate," MLB said in a statement. “By creating a draft system centered around college-aged players and making most college players eligible one year earlier, more players will benefit from both a college education and an elite development environment while reaching professional baseball — and ultimately the major leagues — more quickly.”
MLB said it will not seek to reduce the 120 minor league teams in the top four levels when it negotiates new professional development licenses in 2030 to replace expiring 10-year deals. It would cap bonuses for undrafted players at $10,000 — Middle Tennessee two-way player Trace Phillips was bypassed in the draft last July and signed with Tampa Bay for $629,200.
For international amateurs, the age to sign would be raised to 18 on the Sept. 1 of their signing year, up from 17.
“The game's greatest stars are precocious talents. We always want to have a great window for them,” said Scott Boras, baseball's most high-profile agent. “International markets recognize this, as well. When you bar a labor force from opportunity in America, it is not an American concept.”
Each separate draft would have $200 million in signing pools in 2027. There would be hard caps for each draft.
Teams would be able to trade draft picks but a club couldn't trade its first-round pick in consecutive drafts. A team couldn't acquire more than three additional selections among the first three rounds.
Spending on signing bonuses for players eligible for the 2025 amateur draft totaled about $402 million and signing bonus pools for 2026 increased by 2.5%.
Each team would have the same amount to spend under the proposal rather than the current system which gives higher pools to teams with poorer records in the previous year. Pittsburgh is at just over $19 million this year and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at slightly under $4 million. Teams currently can go over their pools and often do as much as 5%.
Teams have spent about $193 million on signing bonus for international amateurs in 2026. The current signing period runs from Jan. 15 to Dec. 15 each year, but the initial international draft would be no earlier than September 2027 and no later than March 2028.
MLB proposed eliminating competitive balance round picks that began in 2023 and cutting the draft lottery that started in 2023 from the top six picks to four.
Bargaining began May 13 and the sides exchanged initial proposals two weeks later as management proposed a salary cap for the first time since 1994, which resulted in a 7 1/2-month strike and the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years,
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Attorney Bruce Meyer, the current interim executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, speaks at a news conference in New York on March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred answers questions during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, file)
