Right-hander Brandon Woodruff seemed on the cusp of returning to the Brewers but that will have to wait a bit longer. He has some right ankle tendinitis and has been returned from his rehab assignment, per Andrew Wagner of Freeman Sports and 105.7 The Fan.
Woodruff, 32, is trying to work his way back from shoulder surgery. His 2023 was cut short due to an injury to his throwing shoulder and the subsequent operation prevented him from pitching in 2024. He was still working on getting healthy as the 2025 campaign began, which landed him on the 15-day injured list.
He didn’t seem to be too far off, as he started a rehab assignment pretty early, making a minor league appearance on April 12. Rehab assignments for pitchers can last as long as 30 days, so he was coming to the end of that window, making his sixth rehab start yesterday.
However, this new injury will prevent that from happening. It’s unclear how long the Brewers expect him to rest his ankle but, per MLB rules, he has to wait at least seven days before starting a new rehab assignment.
That will delay the return of a pitcher who was once a huge part of the club’s success. From 2019 to 2022, he posted a 3.02 earned run average over 528 innings for the Brewers. He struck out 30% of batters faced, only gave out walks at a 6.3% clip and got grounders on 42.2% of balls in play.
The Brewers non-tendered him ahead of the 2024 season but re-signed him to a back-loaded deal, accounting for his expected injury absence. He made $2.5MM last year and is making $5MM this year, followed by a $10MM buyout on a $20MM mutual option for 2026. Mutual options are almost never picked up by both sides, so that was just an accounting measure to kick some of the money into the future.
For now, the Brewers will have a few other rotation issues to deal with. The club optioned right-hander Tobias Myers yesterday morning, perhaps hoping that Woodruff would take his rotation spot, though that won’t be happening now. Pitchers optioned to the minors have to stay down for a minimum of 15 days unless they are being recalled to replace someone going on the injured list. That means Myers can’t be called back unless someone else gets hurt.
Also, left-hander Jose Quintana has a minor issue of note. The lefty was scheduled to start Wednesday’s game but has a “cranky arm,” per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The club plans to push him to Friday but that may depend on how he responds between now and then. Whatever issue he’s dealing with wasn’t apparent in the data of his most recent start, as his velocity on all his pitches was actually up relative to his previous outing.
With Myers optioned and Quintana out of action for a few days, the club is down to Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick as healthy rotation options. Peralta and Priester are scheduled for today and tomorrow but the club will need a solution for Wednesday, and maybe another solution after that if Quintana needs to miss some time.
Patrick just started yesterday and won’t be available by Wednesday. Tyler Alexander has starting experience but pitched in relief for the Brewers in each of the past two days. Perhaps they could lean on him for multiple innings on Wednesday if they can stay away from him between now and then. Aaron Civale, on the IL due to a hamstring strain, threw four innings in a rehab outing on Thursday. That was his first rehab outing but he got his pitch count up to 50. Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are also on rehab assignment but Ashby’s most recent outing was just two innings while Hall’s was just three.
Elvin Rodríguez is on the 40-man but was optioned in recent days and is therefore in the same boat as Myers. Carlos Rodríguez just pitched on Saturday and wouldn’t be rested by Wednesday. Logan Henderson is on the 40-man and could be an option. Prospect Jacob Misiorowski could also be available, though he’s not yet on the 40-man roster.
All of these various injuries and others have left the Milwaukee rotation in a state of flux all year. That’s what prompted the late signing of Quintana and the early-season trade for Priester. With so many guys nearing a return from the injured list, some stabilization could be just over the horizon, but that won’t involve Woodruff for now.
Photo courtesy of William Glasheen, Imagn Images
Misiorowski Time in Milly-wah-kay? The kid has earned a call-up!
Not looking good for the Brew Crew. At least they have enough adequate AAAA arms to keep them at .500 for the foreseeable future.
Why haven’t they gone to Logan Henderson more than once so far is the question? They’ve had a myriad of injuries to their pitching rotation and did great in his lone start this year and his numbers down on the farm look terrific as well. Is this just them manipulating his service time? Call the kid up, looks like he has nothing else left to prove. Any brewers fans agree or am I spouting nonsense? Jacob Misiorowski’s minor league stats this year look pretty dang good too!
You’re not wrong. Miz is ready, and earned his call up. I won’t argue about Henderson either. This is a .500 team as currently constructed, so it’s time to see what a couple of young guys can do to charge up this team!
Dl Quintana bring Myers back up
Myers needs to spend 15 days off the roster. The only way he can come back sooner is if an Active Roster arm goes on the IL between now and day 15.
Right, Gwynning, that’s why he was saying put Quintana on the IL! Although it looks like Quintana is fine and his start has just been pushed back.
I haven’t seen Woodruff in game action in a few years but I don’t remember him looking as hefty as in the pic for the post. Has he been rehabbing with Lance Lynn?
Woodruff does look a bit husky in that picture…
Gotta suck it up at some point and play.
Maybe their owner should spend some money on talent. He’s the real problem.
Tbf, the Brewers operate on thin margins, and they’re successful. They have the weakest fundamentals in the league, and they’re typically not one of the bottom 5 payrolls.
No MLB team operates on thing margins 😂. Every single owner could afford a payroll of $200M+
Yea, that’s false.
Are you a burner account for all the cheap owners? Because you’re exactly the kind of fan they prey on
Woodruff = the Jaire Alexander of the Brewers
He was once a dominant pitcher, hope he comes back healthy. Looks like brewcrew is hurting for pitching. Open that checkbook
Brewers seem to have a knack for finding adequate to good pitching replacements. If only the their offense would warm up. So many guys that hit well last season are not doing so this year, especially Ortiz and Yelich. At least they seem to be getting better production out of Hoskins so far.
WTF.. come on crew. I said it last season. I really think we need some new training staff over there. Constant problems.