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.

“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, a one-time top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, 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.”

Pirates triumph

LAKELAND, Fla. — Jhostynxon Garcia had two hits, including a two-run homer in the third inning Friday, to help the Pirates take down the Detroit Tigers, 7-5.

Garcia is 10-for-18 this spring and he has a hit in eight straight games.

Endy Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and he is hitting .455 this spring. Teammate Jake Mangum reached base three times with a hit and two walks.

Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger pitched four shutout innings to open before giving up two runs in the fifth.

The Pirates, who improved to 14-6 in Grapefruit League play, take on Baltimore on Saturday and Tampa Bay on Sunday. Carmen Mlodzinski is slated to pitch for the Bucs on Saturday.

Blue Jay hurting

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios is going to see a specialist due to inflammation in his right elbow.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters that the right-hander will be meeting with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. Berrios won’t be throwing again before that visit.

The elbow issue had prevented Berrios from joining Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic.

Berrios, 31, went 9-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 31 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. He ended the season on the injured list and didn’t pitch in the postseason as the Blue Jays made their World Series run.

How about that?

MESA, Ariz. — Henry Bolte, Breyson Guedez and Nick Kurtz homered on consecutive pitches from San Diego’s Michael King in the Athletics’ Cactus League game with the Padres on Friday.

Bolte hit a 401-foot, three-run shot to right on an 0-1 pitch from King in the fourth inning. Guedez followed by delivering a 450-foot blast to right on the first pitch he saw from King. The next pitch King threw resulted in a drive that Kurtz sent just over the left-field wall.

The Padres eventually won the game 13-9.

Kurtz is trying to build off an outstanding 2025 season in which he earned AL rookie of the year honors and batted .290 with a .383 on-base percentage, 36 homers and 86 RBIs in 117 games.