Brandon Woodruff did not have surgery, to start throwing program.

[RobertCrawley]

38 minutes ago, nate82 said:

The Brewers are hesitant to add Woodruff to the WS roster due to the injury rule.  If Woodruff gets injured it maybe determined that it is preexisting or recurring.  If his injury is labeled as that then the Brewers can’t replace him on the roster if he gets injured.

The Brewers are checking with MLB on how they would determine Woodruff’s status. 

Great info. Do you have a source in print? I'd like to read. 

[owbc]

9 minutes ago, RobertCrawley said:

Great info. Do you have a source in print? I'd like to read. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7708471/2026/10/20/brewers-brandon-woodruff-world-series-return/

The fact that we have inquired suggests that we're serious about potentially adding him.

[long ball]

I’m not sure how it could be interpreted as a “chronic” ailment. 
 

it’s not like he has a sore back that flares up from time to time. He had a torn shoulder capsule he was recovering from. 
 

While important, I’m not sure the injury replacement factor is a key to the decision. If he looks good and the metrics on his pitches are what they want to see and he bounces back after his live sessions that’s going to be more important. 

[Underachiever]

Eh, if he gets hurt, call it an oblique and move on. 

[markedman5]

“While important, I’m not sure the injury replacement factor is a key to thedecision.”

Well it appears the Brewers sources that Rosenthal talked to think it is a key factor.

It’s too bad that they have that distinction……..you would think that if a guy is healthy enough to be put on the roster and then suffers a setback to a prior injury he should be able to be replaced but obviously that isn’t the rule.

Too bad

[owbc]

I tend to agree with the rules here. Otherwise it would be super easy for the Brewers to use Woodruff a single time and then declare that he's re-injured himself to get a roster replacement. I wouldn't want our opponents doing that to us. 

[ImissDougMelvin]

I mean this isn't hard, IF Woody gets hurt, just call it something not related to his shoulder(say a hamstring for example) and replace him. Simple as that. I HIGHLY doubt MLB makes you send absolute proof that that is what the injury truly is. Have the team training staff or doctor "certify" that's the iniury and that should suffice. 

[nate82]

1 minute ago, ImissDougMelvin said:

I mean this isn't hard, IF Woody gets hurt, just call it something not related to his shoulder(say a hamstring for example) and replace him. Simple as that. I HIGHLY doubt MLB makes you send absolute proof that that is what the injury truly is. Have the team training staff or doctor "certify" that's the iniury and that should suffice. 

MLB would come down hard on the Brewers if they did that.  Like stripping them of playoff revenue, taking picks away and anything else they could think of.  The league would definitely look into the accuracy of the injury before they allow for a replacement.

The Brewers would have to submit the injury to MLB and they are definitely checking the accuracy of said injury.  

[ImissDougMelvin]

 

[ImissDougMelvin]

15 minutes ago, nate82 said:

MLB would come down hard on the Brewers if they did that.  Like stripping them of playoff revenue, taking picks away and anything else they could think of.  The league would definitely look into the accuracy of the injury before they allow for a replacement.

The Brewers would have to submit the injury to MLB and they are definitely checking the accuracy of said injury.  

Ok, a google search shows there is actually a process. But to me, if he is healthy he has to be on the roster. If he gets hurt, he gets hurt. You'd only be replacing him with Harrison, Patrick etc. Those guys haven't pitched an inning in the post season yet, so it's not like you'd be an arm short. 

[formerlybis]

The main thing to worry about is hold back a designated pitcher or two for an extra inning game - the postseason does not put a runner on second to start the inning, so the possibility of several extra innings is greater. So, even though they didn't end up using Patrick or Harrison in either series, they did serve a purpose. 

It's almost impossible to believe Woody could fill that particular role in his first appearance. But, you could move Drohan or May to that role if Woody is rostered. 

[Matt]

We're gonna be in a situation where starters are going to see relief innings if needed. We've got multiple capable multiple inning relievers. Extremely unlikely that we're going to come close to needing all 13 relief pitchers. 

Let Woody onto the roster. Senzatela, thank you for your service. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

1 hour ago, ImissDougMelvin said:

 

Thanks for this! 

Not much you can tell, but he did get Turang to swing and miss on an elevated fastball. Definitely looked like a simulated game. Sanchez was catching, and Bill was on deck when Turang came up, so they threw the top of the order at him.

[torts]

1 hour ago, ImissDougMelvin said:

 

Oh heeeellllllll yeah!!!  Looking sharp!

[markedman5]

 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

14 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

 

I don't know, man. Let's see about recovery, but that's good enough to be able to pitch an inning in a bridge scenario. 

For me, it comes down to: Are you actually going to use Harrison in a spot that calls for a lefty? Or is he there strictly as insurance or for emergencies? If it's the latter, give me Woodruff all day. 

One of the front page articles talked about Romero, Ashby, and Hall having sinkers that don't matchup as well with the Rays from a pitch shape standpoint. I get that. If Harrison is the better matchup, then roster him. But that sort of means you should use him. 

Personally, I'd go with Woodruff, depending on how his arm bounces back here. Drohan can be the guy you use for those lefty fastball shapes. I'm more comfortable with him in medium- or high-leverage than Harrison, by quite a ways. AND, let's not forget. Woodruff is awesome against lefties! I know he may not be himself. But even this year, lefties struggled against his mix. 

Bottom line: I just think he's worth the risk if he's throwing 90-92 in simulated settings and can bounce back. You don't lose much in not having Harrison. You might gain an inning or two over the series by having Woodruff, not to mention the emotional lift he might provide.

[Matt]

I don't think Harrison is even part of the equation. It's whether you trust Senzatela (RHP) or Woody (RHP). It doesn't matter what split you look at, Woody's better. I don't think this should be a difficult decision. 

[ImissDougMelvin]

44 minutes ago, Matt said:

I don't think Harrison is even part of the equation. It's whether you trust Senzatela (RHP) or Woody (RHP). It doesn't matter what split you look at, Woody's better. I don't think this should be a difficult decision. 

I don't think it would be Senzatela he would replace(and that's the right decision), I think it would be Patrick(that's the right decision). 

[Matt]

21 minutes ago, ImissDougMelvin said:

I don't think it would be Senzatela he would replace(and that's the right decision), I think it would be Patrick(that's the right decision). 

Why not? Patrick's a long relief guy. He can step in an emergency if a starter is getting shelled.

I don't know what Senzatela provides that the theoretical version of Woody doesn't. 

[thebruce44]

On 10/18/2026 at 4:28 AM, MrTPlush said:

It’s not speculation, that is the rule.

And my comment was after someone said “If he is still injured.” That kinda infers a pre existing issue you decided to add him to the roster for anyway. 

And now, as expected, its come out that the Brewers have requested MLB offer their interpretation of the rule. As in, they aren't going to do this without knowing they can replace him if injured during the WS.

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Why not? Patrick's a long relief guy. He can step in an emergency if a starter is getting shelled.

I don't know what Senzatela provides that the theoretical version of Woody doesn't. 

Against the Padres RH heavy lineup, Senzatela was one of the main middle relief options.

Given the Rays are similar in that their best hitters are right-handed, I don't see him getting left off the WS roster. 

Patrick's the one who hasn't pitched a single inning this postseason. Clear Murph doesn't trust him right now. 

[BrewerFan]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Why not? Patrick's a long relief guy. He can step in an emergency if a starter is getting shelled.

I don't know what Senzatela provides that the theoretical version of Woody doesn't. 

A 99 MPH sinker that generates a lot of ground balls and multiple innings. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Against the Padres RH heavy lineup, Senzatela was one of the main middle relief options.

Given the Rays are similar in that their best hitters are right-handed, I don't see him getting left off the WS roster. 

Patrick's the one who hasn't pitched a single inning this postseason. Clear Murph doesn't trust him right now. 

I don't think it's clear that Murph doesn't trust him, I think it's just simply the result of a staff shortening. 

We went through the Dodgers series riding a few BP arms... pretty damn hard. 

We're looking back to two series that went 4 games and projecting that forward. It's entirely possible there's a 9-2 game in the World Series... OR, more importantly, a game(likely Gm4) we get down 3-4 innings early and vs a team that struggles vs lefties, Harrison may provide more value than Woodruff. 


If we add Woodruff because it's a sentimental pick... then so be it. I think it's a much harder argument that he actually makes us better or better able to cover 63 innings+ any extra innings(which should be what we're building the roster for... though hopefully not "planning" for). 

 

[Jopal78]

9 hours ago, Matt said:

Why not? Patrick's a long relief guy. He can step in an emergency if a starter is getting shelled.

I don't know what Senzatela provides that the theoretical version of Woody doesn't. 

The ability to throw in back to back games? 

[Jopal78]

8 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Against the Padres RH heavy lineup, Senzatela was one of the main middle relief options.

Given the Rays are similar in that their best hitters are right-handed, I don't see him getting left off the WS roster. 

Patrick's the one who hasn't pitched a single inning this postseason. Clear Murph doesn't trust him right now. 

Patrick’s role is to pitch in situations where they do not need to use their leverage arms, luckily they haven’t had those situations so far in the post season. 
 

Murphy didn’t suddenly lose trust in a pitcher who was 5th on the team in innings this season.