Brandon Woodruff will visit Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion on his injured shoulder, relays team reporter Sophia Minnaert. Initial testing revealed a new injury to Woodruff’s anterior shoulder capsule.
Milwaukee placed the two-time All-Star on the injured list over the weekend. Woodruff’s velocity had tanked on Saturday due to shoulder discomfort. Skipper Pat Murphy initially suggested the team believed it was the same type of injury that cost Woodruff a couple months earlier in the season. He’d developed a cyst and some inflammation in the shoulder, which he had surgically repaired in 2023.
It’s not yet clear whether another surgery will be under consideration. The team will surely provide more details after the reevaluation with Meister, who performed the operation three years ago. In any case, it’s a discouraging initial update that seemingly points toward another extended absence. It’s made all the more frustrating by the fact that Woodruff remains a very good pitcher when his shoulder holds up. He has a 2.98 earned run average and 27% strikeout rate over nine starts despite a career-low 91.9 mph average fastball velocity.
Milwaukee is operating with a four-man rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat and Shane Drohan. They’ll activate Logan Henderson from the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow’s series finale against the Cardinals, his first appearance since May 22. That should take them through the All-Star Break. Robert Gasser is their only remaining healthy depth starter on optional assignment to Triple-A. Chad Patrick could build back up as a starter if needed, while Garrett Stallings is in long relief after spending most of the year in the Triple-A rotation.
It’s too early to know if the Woodruff injury will impact Milwaukee’s deadline plans. Misiorowski and Harrison would make for an excellent 1-2 punch in a playoff series. Henderson, Sproat, Drohan and Gasser have limited big league track records but are all talented in their own rights. The latter three have pitched well of late.
The Brewers wouldn’t necessarily need to add starting pitching even if Woodruff is facing a long-term absence. They have an extremely talented farm system and are again running away with the NL Central, though, so the opportunity is there if they wanted to take a swing on the trade front. Milwaukee is seven games clear of the Cubs in the division. They’re a game back of the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. More importantly, they’re 5.5 games ahead of the NL East-leading Braves for the #2 seed and the accompanying first-round bye.
