Brewers face tough choice of whether to include Brandon Woodruff on their World Series roster

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Woodruff’s sterling track record and lengthy injury history leave the Milwaukee Brewers facing a dilemma as they assemble their World Series roster.

Do they activate a two-time All-Star who hasn’t pitched in a game since July 4, knowing they won’t be able to replace him on the roster if he gets hurt again?

“I could see it either way,” Woodruff said Thursday, the day before the Brewers were set to open the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. “There’s a lot to mull over for them, for sure, about me.”

Woodruff threw 23 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday as he continued his push to pitch. It’s a remarkable development for someone who expected to be undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery over the summer.

Whether it’s enough for him to play in the Fall Classic remains uncertain. A club may request permission from the commissioner to replace a player on the active roster for the remainder of a series if he sustains an “acute, non-chronic injury or ailment (not recurring soreness over time).”

That means the Brewers couldn’t have somebody fill Woodruff’s spot if they include him on the roster and he has a recurrence of the shoulder issue.

“A lot of unknowns there, but obviously the good version of that guy is somebody you’d love to have on your roster,” president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said.

The healthy version of Woodruff has been very good.

Woodruff and designated hitter Christian Yelich are the only Brewers who have been with the team since it began its run of eight playoff berths in nine seasons. Woodruff’s 3.10 career ERA is the best in franchise history for anyone who has pitched at least 500 innings for the team.

He's 1-4 with a 3.18 ERA in eight playoff appearances.

“He’s been one of the best pitchers in this organization’s history,” Yelich said. “For a while, he was the guy, if we needed to win a big game, of all the talented pitchers we’ve had here, I would have always picked him if we had a game that we needed to win, just with his mentality and just how he went about it.”

But the shoulder injury prevented him from pitching in the 2023 playoffs and led to anterior capsule surgery later that year. Woodruff didn’t pitch again until July 2025, and a lat strain kept him out of last year's postseason.

He found it painful that he couldn't help out in previous playoff runs. Woodruff wants his chance now that the Brewers are in the World Series for the first time since 1982 and trying to win their first ever.

“This is why I play,” Woodruff said. “The playoffs are my jam, per se. I love this time of year. I love pitching in the big moments. I just kind of feel like I’m ready for those.”

This year, he went on the injured list in early May after a reduction in his velocity prompted him to leave a game in the second inning. He returned in late June, dealt with another velocity dip during a July 4 start at Arizona and hasn’t pitched since.

He was expecting to have another anterior capsule surgery until learning it wasn’t necessary. Since then, Woodruff has been preparing for the possibility he could help the Brewers out in October.

“It’s almost incredible that the kid has worked his way back,” manager Pat Murphy said. “His mind was on this. He was very quiet about it, but his mind was on this. It’s kind of incredible, and he threw the ball really well (on Tuesday). Just ask the hitters he faced.

“There’s a lot more to it. There’s rules we have to deal with, like you can’t replace him, all that kind of stuff. So that will be a discussion today.”

Woodruff’s rapid progress has made it a difficult decision.

“I love competing more than anybody,” Woodruff said. “I want to be out there more than anybody. I think that’s a good problem for them to have right now. There were times where I didn’t think I could get myself ready. I’ve gotten to this point. It had to all work out like it has up to this point. We’ll see what happens.”

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