Brandon Woodruff - Heyman: Woody accepts qualifying offer 1 yr/ $22million

[StearnsFTW]

Meh.

Hope he's healthy when it matters, but he probably won't be.

I'm not super-concerned about the $12MM (net), I just worry that they'll count on him to be a big part of October and he won't be (again).

 

[homer]

7 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Mark A right now:

that gif will always make me laugh

[39Streak]

Really happy to have Woody Back!  He looked great last season.  Let’s do it again.

[KCBrewerfan34]

10 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

What a stupid move by the Brewers once again if they spend money they spend it like idiots typical. hand a guy 7.5 million to rehab with a 10 million buyout then resign him for 22 mil so he is really gonna make 32 million this year atrocious job by the front office 

$10 mill was for last year, think of it the Brewers deferred the money. This isn’t $12 mill net, it’s an additional $22 mill 

[tmwiese55]

15 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

What a stupid move by the Brewers once again if they spend money they spend it like idiots typical. hand a guy 7.5 million to rehab with a 10 million buyout then resign him for 22 mil so he is really gonna make 32 million this year atrocious job by the front office 

I'd agree the last two years of spending on a guy you knew couldn't pitch was bad/stupid money spent and very surprising for a team like MKE that is so frugal. 

This though, a one year 22 mil deal is not stupid at all.  Pretty much every good FA that comes out we say 'hey if the guy somehow has to take a 1-3 year deal we should do it since we can handle that risk'.    It rarely works out that the guy has to take it, in this case the guy did.   Essentially, if someone like him was available as a FA we'd be generally be ok with signing him on a one year low risk deal.

My guess is unless they get overwhelmed on Peralta offers they'll keep both and 'go for it'.    And I'm also guessing they're trying to work out a 3-4 year type deal with Woodruff, or both, behind the scenes right now. 

[Brewer77]

8 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

What a stupid move by the Brewers once again if they spend money they spend it like idiots typical. hand a guy 7.5 million to rehab with a 10 million buyout then resign him for 22 mil so he is really gonna make 32 million this year atrocious job by the front office 

What else would the Brewers have spent that $22M on? Let’s be real with ourselves here. They weren’t going to commit to a long term deal with any free agent and any worthwhile player that signs to a short term deal is going to carry a lot of risk or flaws themselves

[wiguy94]

10 minutes ago, Brewer77 said:

What else would the Brewers have spent that $22M on? Let’s be real with ourselves here. They weren’t going to commit to a long term deal with any free agent and any worthwhile player that signs to a short term deal is going to carry a lot of risk or flaws themselves

Yeah I don't particularly feel one way or another about Woodruff accepting the QO. I mean obviously happy to see Woodruff stay a Brewer just more talking big picture thinking. I think the idea this hurts their ability to make moves this offseason is exaggerated. It's not like Brewers were going to be big game hunting if Woodruff declined the QO.

[Klantz27]

15 minutes ago, Brewer77 said:

What else would the Brewers have spent that $22M on? Let’s be real with ourselves here. They weren’t going to commit to a long term deal with any free agent and any worthwhile player that signs to a short term deal is going to carry a lot of risk or flaws themselves

I would of rather seen that 22 million plus the 17.5 million we gave him to do absolutely nothing for us. To extend young talent turang hell vaughn even we have lots of talented young pitching with the best lab in the mlb spending all that money on pitching with this being the case is just downright stupid pitching isn't a problem in Milwaukee always has been a strength even with woodruff being injured the entire time use that money on bat already damn hitting has been the weakness for years I mean **** josh naylor just signed for 18.5 million a year 

[wiguy94]

Just now, Klantz27 said:

I would of rather seen that 22 million plus the 17.5 million we gave him to do absolutely nothing for us. To resign young talent turang hell vaughn even we have lots of talented young pitching with the best lab in the mlb spending all that money on pitching with this being the case is just downright stupid pitching isn't a problem in Milwaukee always has been a strength even with woodruff being injured the entire time use that money on bat already damn hitting has been the weakness for years I mean **** josh naylor just signed for 18.5 million a year 

Woodruff put up 1.8 fWAR and 1.2 bWAR for that $17.5M. He didn't do nothing.

Also I'd like to add that comparing a 1-year deal AAV to a 5 year deal AAV is a pretty bad faith comparison.

[StearnsFTW]

17 minutes ago, KCBrewerfan34 said:

$10 mill was for last year, think of it the Brewers deferred the money. This isn’t $12 mill net, it’s an additional $22 mill 

Yeah, you're right.

 

Now I really hate this.

[titanrick]

It's ok if your opinion is that the Brewers are not spending money wisely.  But man, there sure seems to be a lot of confusion about that $10M buyout.

They really chose to pay him $15M for this past season.  No one in the Brewers FO was surprised that a mutual option for 2026 was declined, so they had accounted for that money already.  

And for those worried about the salary hit, we are really only on the books for $7M more than we paid him last year (salary plus buy-out).  Given that the Hoskins, Quintana and other deals are now off the books, this doesn't seem as reckless as some are making it sound.

[Outlander]

8 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

I would of rather seen that 22 million plus the 17.5 million we gave him to do absolutely nothing for us. To resign young talent turang hell vaughn even we have lots of talented young pitching with the best lab in the mlb spending all that money on pitching with this being the case is just downright stupid pitching isn't a problem in Milwaukee always has been a strength even with woodruff being injured the entire time use that money on bat already damn hitting has been the weakness for years I mean **** josh naylor just signed for 18.5 million a year 

It never works that way though, long term deals are long term commitments. Saving money this year is certainly no guarantee they will spend it in the future. Maybe Mark A and the rest of the owners get an extra distribution instead if they don't pay Woodruff for a year. No idea why anyone would hate this deal if they actually want the Brewers to win in 2026. It's a one year deal, it doesn't prevent them from doing anything in future year.

[wiguy94]

2 minutes ago, titanrick said:

It's ok if your opinion is that the Brewers are not spending money wisely.  But man, there sure seems to be a lot of confusion about that $10M buyout.

They really chose to pay him $15M for this past season.  No one in the Brewers FO was surprised that a mutual option for 2026 was declined, so they had accounted for that money already.  

And for those worried about the salary hit, we are really only on the books for $7M more than we paid him last year (salary plus buy-out).  Given that the Hoskins, Quintana and other deals are now off the books, this doesn't seem as reckless as some are making it sound.

I'd even go a step further. His contract was structured as a 1 year $17.5M deal spread across 2 seasons and a buyout.

[Klantz27]

25 minutes ago, KCBrewerfan34 said:

$10 mill was for last year, think of it the Brewers deferred the money. This isn’t $12 mill net, it’s an additional $22 mill 

I never said anything about it being 12 mil net I said 22 million and im aware how a buyout works it still counts against this years payroll so In total he will in fact make 32 million and yes im aware that extra 10 million has nothing to do with the 22 million 1 year deal he signed regardless it will still be payed this year 

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, Klantz27 said:

I never said anything about it being 12 mil net I said 22 million and im aware how a buyout works it still counts against this years payroll so In total he will in fact make 32 million and yes im aware that extra 10 million has nothing to do with the 22 million 1 year deal he signed regardless it will still be payed this year 

Adam McCalvy has very clearly said Woodruff's buyout was baked into their 2025 costs so no it does not in fact make it $32M against this year's payroll.

[Klantz27]

6 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Adam McCalvy has very clearly said Woodruff's buyout was baked into their 2025 costs so no it does not in fact make it $32M against this year's payroll.

Okay who gives a damn the total amount paid stays the same 17.5 million to do nothing and 22 million to probably be injured half the year point still stands terrible deal 😂 

[edfunderburk]

3 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

I hope to see some competition at shortstop in one form or another. We can’t live with a black hole at 9, can we?

Would Pratt, Henderson, & Megill be enough to pry Neto from the Angels?

[Klantz27]

22 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Woodruff put up 1.8 fWAR and 1.2 bWAR for that $17.5M. He didn't do nothing.

Also I'd like to add that comparing a 1-year deal AAV to a 5 year deal AAV is a pretty bad faith comparison.

5 years to josh naylor is a steal age 33 when his contract is up thats alright tho why would we do something like that when we could give 22 million to a 33 year old pitcher that cant stay on the field or how about 16 million a year over 5 to a 33 year old outfielder lorenzo cain or how about 200 million to a guy with a busted knee cap and a nagging back all the while he still had like 3 years remaining on his deal 😂😂 how about 34 million a year to hoskins off a blown out acl 8.5 million to 37 year old miley 7 million to gary sanchez 😂😂😂 no money to commit 18.5 over 5 though you're right 

[wiguy94]

10 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

5 years to josh naylor is a steal age 33 when his contract is up thats alright tho why would we do something like that when we could give 22 million to a 33 year old pitcher that cant stay on the field or how about 16 million a year over 5 to a 33 year old outfielder lorenzo cain or how about 200 million to a guy with a busted knee cap and a nagging back all the while he still had like 3 years remaining on his deal 😂😂 how about 34 million a year to hoskins off a blown out acl 8.5 million to 37 year old miley 7 million to gary sanchez 😂😂😂 no money to commit 18.5 over 5 though you're right 

I think you needed just a couple more laughing face emojis to really get your point across

[Thurston Fluff]

From a purely objective stance I would have been ok either way on this one. The way I look at it is if they planned on getting a veteran pitcher they'd have to spend at least $10 million anyway. When adding in the buyouts and such probably more. That makes this about $12 million to get a certain amount of certainty/continuity with no future financial risk. We know performs well in this environment, has a good track record of production and has shown he can be productive with his current arsenal. 

From a fan perspective I'm happy he's back for one more run.

[Jopal78]

Are the Brewers a more talented team with Woodruff than without? Of course.

Had Woodruff rejected the QO, were the Brewers likely to be more than the usual bargain hunters in free agency? Most likely  not.

With Peralta potentially being on the trading block, is it strategically a good thing to have veteran arms on the roster and not rely solely on young unproven pitchers? Of course.

Whats not to like then about Woodruff being back with the Brewers in ‘26.

[Brewer77]

33 minutes ago, Klantz27 said:

5 years to josh naylor is a steal age 33 when his contract is up thats alright tho why would we do something like that when we could give 22 million to a 33 year old pitcher that cant stay on the field or how about 16 million a year over 5 to a 33 year old outfielder lorenzo cain or how about 200 million to a guy with a busted knee cap and a nagging back all the while he still had like 3 years remaining on his deal 😂😂 how about 34 million a year to hoskins off a blown out acl 8.5 million to 37 year old miley 7 million to gary sanchez 😂😂😂 no money to commit 18.5 over 5 though you're right 

The Brewers could commit to that deal for Naylor. But why is that the best use of resources for the Brewers? A 120ish wRC+ 1B does not move the needle for this offense. They could run it back with a Vaughn/Bauers platoon and get similar production 

Meanwhile we just witnessed a playoff run where the Brewers basically had one guy they were comfortable starting against any lineup. The Brewers obviously do a great job developing pitching, but playoff starters are a scarce commodity and Woodruff is one of them when healthy. It’s well worth the risk attached to it

[markedman5]

Brewers will have a starting rotation that will cost them about 33 million ……even if they keep Freddy.

 

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I guess I'm not. I don't think anyone was going to give him $23mm. I could have seen something like $28/2, but I think the Brewers made a strong offer.

At his best Woodruff is an elite guy. Had we spent $22 million on a replacement SP it would be someone of the Jhoulys Chacin variety. I'd rather just bring him back.

 

I think Woodruff’s market was just really tough to predict and I’m guessing that’s what his agent told him. I could have seen his best offer being 3/75 or 2/35 and neither would have really surprised me that much.

So I understand Woodruff’s perspective — if he stays healthy and productive all of 2026, which is well within the range of possible outcomes, he’s still in a decent position to cash in on a big(ish) 2-4 year deal. 

If it doesn’t work out, he got 32 million to pitch in 2026 which at the time of his non-tender he probably doubted he’d make that the rest of his career.

[Jopal78]

10 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

I think Woodruff’s market was just really tough to predict and I’m guessing that’s what his agent told him. I could have seen his best offer being 3/75 or 2/35 and neither would have really surprised me that much.

So I understand Woodruff’s perspective — if he stays healthy and productive all of 2026, which is well within the range of possible outcomes, he’s still in a decent position to cash in on a big(ish) 2-4 year deal. 

If it doesn’t work out, he got 32 million to pitch in 2026 which at the time of his non-tender he probably doubted he’d make that the rest of his career.

Dude. When was Woodruff non-tendered?

Let’s put the buyout thing to bed, it doesn’t mean he’s getting extra money. Buyouts on mutual options are nothing more than accounting tricks to push guaranteed money for the current financial year into the next financial year.
 

That’s why Woodruff’s contract for 24-25 was referred to as having a 17.5 million dollar guarantee. He got 2.5 in ‘24, 5 in ‘25 and another 10 when he rejected his half of the mutual option which I’m sure his contract states when and how it’s to be paid.  Upon receipt he’s paid in full at that point.