Brandon Woodruff announced in mid-July that he was undergoing a season-ending shoulder surgery, but that ended up not being the case. Speaking with Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today, Woodruff said he will start Wednesday on what is planned as a five-week throwing progression, with the aim of pitching again before the Brewers’ 2026 season is over.
The surprising news came in the aftermath of some tests in early August that showed enough healing in Woodruff’s right shoulder that Dr. Keith Meister felt surgery wouldn’t be required. Woodruff has pitched only 45 1/3 innings for the Brewers this year, as he has twice been placed on the injured list due to discomfort that arose from a cyst forming in his labrum area, but the second of those injuries was eventually revealed as an anterior shoulder capsule issue. Woodruff underwent a capsule surgery in 2023 that cost him the entire 2024 season in recovery.
It is still entirely possible that Woodruff isn’t able to get back on the mound before the end of the 2026 campaign. The Brewers’ final regular-season game is on September 27, so a five-week throwing/rehab window will keep Woodruff out until the postseason at the earliest. Once the five weeks are up, Woodruff said the next step is a re-evaluation, so he might not even necessarily be cleared to be an option for the playoff roster.
Milwaukee has the best record in baseball and is in position to get a first-round bye. This gives Woodruff more time to get up to speed, but the question remains whether or not the Brewers would feel comfortable including a pitcher who hasn’t pitched since July 4 on their playoff roster. The Brew Crew could consider using him as a reliever as he enters his throwing progression, which means less build on Woodruff’s arm and perhaps less chance of another injury setback.
“I think there’s a low possibility, but I think there’s a possibility,” manager Pat Murphy said about the chances of Woodruff returning. “Why not go with it? Wouldn’t this be nice to have positive news? Because everybody would want Woody on the mound. Everybody would want Woody.”
While the Brewers will surely stick to medicals and roster flexibility over sentiment as they try to win a World Series, it is impossible to ignore the storybook aspect of Woodruff making an unexpected return to help his longtime team finally win a championship. Injuries have kept Woodruff from any postseason action since 2021, so the veteran is undoubtedly eager to explore even the slightest chance of being part of a playoff run.
Postseason aspirations aside, Hogg noted that avoiding this surgery is obviously good long-term news for Woodruff. It’s still too early to gauge whether or not Woodruff is entirely beyond his shoulder problem, or if another health issue might emerge given how many other injuries have also limited Woodruff’s availability in the last couple of years. That said, it’s at least a positive step that Woodruff apparently won’t need another capsule procedure, which likely would’ve kept him out of action until 2028 and could’ve threatened his career as a whole.
As good as the Brewers have been this season, their postseason pitching plans remain a little cloudy beyond Jacob Misiorowski as the clear ace of the group. Logan Henderson and Kyle Harrison seem likely to be the second and third options, leaving Dustin May, Shane Drohan, and perhaps Robert Gasser as candidate for a fourth starter role. Woodruff is now a wild card in this mix, though the Brewers may use more of a whole-staff approach to postseason pitching apart from presumably a fairly traditional usage of Misiorowski.
