The Man Goes On the Roster: Brandon Woodruff and the Non-Dilemma

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It's all pretty fragile. It's all pretty turbid. There's no good way to know, really, whether Brandon Woodruff will be ready to get people out in the high-pressure, high-stakes environment of a World Series. He told reporters he felt very good about his bullpen session during the NLCS, and he told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (after the Brewers clinched their first National League pennant) that it would be hard to keep him off the World Series roster, but there's a good chance he's not actually ready to pitch at a high level. He admitted that he only took one brief glance at the data providing feedback during his mound session. He fought for the right to return to the active roster, earlier this season, even though his velocity was way down and he was clearly not back to full health.

To that, I say this: Who cares? It doesn't matter. It's very, very simple: the man goes on the roster. If Woodruff is upright; if his arm isn't in a sling; and if he believes he can help his team in even the smallest, most emergency-only way, he goes on the roster. Woodruff is the most respected veteran in the organization, above even newly minted captain Christian Yelich. He's the one guy the team has made big exceptions for. He's a symbol of what makes the team special, on several levels.

When Woodruff's shoulder gave way in September 2023, it didn't actually bring a sudden and premature end to the Brewers' season, but it felt like it. Losing their prospective Game 1 starter was one thing. Losing that guy and their leader and competitor-in-chief (all in one bundle) was another. It was particularly cruel and worrisome, too, because by the time the Brewers had been swept out of the postseason by the Diamondbacks, it was clear that Woodruff would need surgery and miss the entirety of 2024.

In fact, the injury was career-threatening, and worse still, it almost didn't matter whether he would eventually make it back or not. That 2024 season was to be Woodruff's last under team control, and only if the team elected to tender him a contract and absorb the high salary he would earn in his final year of arbitration eligibility—for a player who wouldn't take the field all season. Fat chance. Until he got hurt, there was much speculation about whether the team would trade Woodruff in the ensuing offseason, just as there was about Willy Adames.

Sure enough, the team non-tendered Woodruff later that fall. He nearly signed elsewhere. He nearly signed—perish the thought—with the Cubs, to whom Craig Counsell had defected in November. At the last moment, though, he and the Brewers fell back together, with Milwaukee getting him cheap in 2024 and a bit less cheap in 2025, when both sides hoped he might return.

Return he did, last summer, although it took longer than anyone hoped. At the start of spring training, there was chatter about whether he could be back in the rotation before the end of April. Ultimately, he wouldn't pitch for the big-league team until early July. He was phenomenal when he was on the mound, but heartbreakingly, his shoulder balked again late in the regular season, and he was unavailable for the playoffs again. His free agency rushed up to meet both parties again, and the Brewers faced another tough decision: whether to extend the qualifying offer.

Normally, this would be a no-brainer. The Brewers don't offer players $22 million and change when it's not clear that they can be high-end contributors, and it was not at all clear that Woodruff could be a high-end contributor. The shoulder felt like it was hanging by a thread. He'd lost 21 months to one injury, come back for not even three months, and suffered another. This time, he entered the offseason with a reasonable expectation of health and readiness for the following season, but the former workhorse would need to be handled with kid gloves. That's no way for a team on a tight budget to spend around 15% of its payroll.

Yet, the team gave him the QO. It was pretty clear he would accept it, but they gave it to him, anyway. For a second time, the organization made an exception where Woodruff is concerned, because (as a teammate and a competitor and as a performer) he's exceptional. A team like the Brewers doesn't dominate for one decade and stand in position to do so for another one without sticking to its rules, but no team succeeds if it can't spot the places where exceptions to strict rules are in order.

The rules that have made the Brewers great might dictate that they eschew putting Woodruff on the World Series roster. Twice this year, he suddenly lost velocity in alarming ways and had to be placed on the injured list. The last time we saw him, he was barely touching 90 miles per hour with his heater, and trending down.

Ordinarily, a team with as stringent and well-calibrated a set of best practices as any in the league wouldn't put that guy in position to have to pitch with the first championship in team history hanging in the balance. Then again, though, Woodruff had a 2.98 ERA even this year, and since coming back from the surgery last July, he's struck out roughly 30% of the batters he's faced and walked barely more than 5%. You can make a case that he belongs on the roster even through an objective lens, if his rehab has been going as well as he feels and if he looks good facing some live batters over the next few days.

But it shouldn't matter. This is not an ordinary situation, in the slightest. This is Brandon Woodruff. Besides, the Brewers haven't trusted Kyle Harrison or Chad Patrick enough to put them on the mound at all over the first two rounds of their playoff run. To put either of them on the roster and leave off Woodruff would be absurd. If Woodruff can pitch, the man goes on the roster. 

This World Series is not for funsies. It's not an exhibition. The Brewers should fight fiercely to win it. But this playoff run has been about redemption, and about completing a story the team left painfully unfinished in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. It's been about the project this team began a decade ago to fruition. Only one player available to them next week was in organization a decade ago. Only one has been at the heart of it all, and even been its beating heart, at times. One player has the strongest ties of any player to the late Bob Uecker, and has already been the subject of multiple exceptions made to the rules that helped the Brewers get this far. One player represents this team's improbable and soul-stirring defiance of baseball's economic system and its very natural laws. If he can so much as fire one good strike in there, that man goes on the roster.

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[keephopealive]

I'd put him, but only if he can pitch.  We didn't need Harrison or Patrick because the series was a 4 game sweep. No guarantee any series ends so quickly, and so they were insurance.  I would put Woodruff on and May off.  May has great stuff but has not shown he has the emotional/mental fortitude to succeed.  He only pitched well after the game seemed lost.  Patrick was great last year in the playoffs, and Harrison looked like he found his pitches in his last outing.  I'd just swap the two red-headed righties. 

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

 "The Brewers haven't trusted Kyle Harrison or Chad Patrick enough to put them on the mound at all over the first two rounds of their playoff run. To put either of them on the roster and leave off Woodruff would be absurd. If Woodruff can pitch, the man goes on the roster." -Matthew Trueblood-

I couldn't agree more.  ....... I would lean towards dropping Dustin May. He gave up the big bomb to Otahni. He did well on 10/12 vs LAD. His last 10 outings except for the 10/12/26 game is " "under mediocre". That is my ranking category based upon what I have been seeing. He seems wound up and on edge when I check out his eyes. Kind of like Craig Counsel chewing his finger nails.  Per Stat Muse he has a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 5.65 and 31 strikeouts in 10 appearances in his last 10 games. 

Long and the short of it is get Woody on the World Series roster. Appreciate the article!!!!!!!

[jay87shot]

If he proves he can throw 30+ pitches with command to secondary pitches I would put him on over Harrison. I guess if we get into a 13+ inning fire fight I'd rather have him over Harrison.

[Michael Trzinski]

I'd say put him on as long as he can be replaced if he gets re-injured.
Per MLB.com:

What happens if a postseason-eligible player gets injured during a series?

In the event of a player injury, a club may request permission from the commissioner's office to replace said player during the course of a series, but that player is ineligible to play for the rest of that round and the subsequent round, if there is one.

A pitcher must be replaced by another pitcher, and a position player must be replaced by another position player.

He deserves to be there!!!

[Jim French Stepstool]

Good article, but I'll quibble with the Patrick comment. I don't think it was lack of trust so much as they simply didn't need him. Heck, they almost didn't need Senzatela who more-or-less fills the same role.

As for Woodruff, the nice thing about this is that with a week off he'll get to face hitters & be put in game-type situations. If that test is passed I'd certainly put him in the hopper with May, Anderson & Harrison for the final two spots.

[Trail]

No. Sorry… But this is not a time for sentimentality. With Patrick and Harrison you at least know what you’re getting. Frankly, Harrison looked better than May that the last game of the season.  With Woody, you have no idea what you’re getting. Would you use them as an opener for a meaningful game? Would you use them in a leverage situation? Fact of the matter is the only time you’d feel safe using him is with a big lead or a big deficit. I love the guy and I think what’s happened to his career is a tragedy.I’d love to see him as a Brewer next year… But only at a very low number with heavy incentives. Getting back to the original point… No.

[Team Canada]

38 minutes ago, Trail said:

With Patrick and Harrison you at least know what you’re getting.

I would argue with Harrison you have no idea what you're getting. Terrible Harrison? Mediocre Harrison? CY candidate Harrison?

[Branyanisthegoat]

1 hour ago, Trail said:

Would you use them as an opener for a meaningful game?

1000% would use him that way, provided his stuff looks similar to the post surgery Woody we've seen.

He got dudes out by spamming changeups because his fb velo dipped down to 86. The man just knows how to pitch, and id gladly gamble on him over the current certainty of Drohan or Patrick.

[Michael Trzinski]

13 hours ago, Team Canada said:

I would argue with Harrison you have no idea what you're getting. Terrible Harrison? Mediocre Harrison? CY candidate Harrison?

You're not wrong. His was a 'Tale of At Least Two Seasons' this year...

[Trail]

Frankly I’m a bit unhappy with Woody doing this so publicly. If the brewers say no, it creates a PR problem and a distraction at a time when there should be none.  

[long ball]

I agree 100%. I think you summed it up pretty well. 
 

from the moment I saw Curt’s video I knew he’d be on the roster. 
 

I’d even take it a step further. Woodruff should start the game 4 bullpen game. It gives us the most leeway if it doesn’t go well and then we don’t have to worry about him getting warm for a specific situation. (I’m also hoping we have a series lead heading into game 4 but if we don’t, I’d backtrack on this comment 😂)

[Sugarrayray]

I don’t know if I categorically agree with the sentimentality but here’s what I’m confident in: Brandon Woodruff throwing 86mph is probably more effective then any of the current iterations of Dustin May, Antonio Senzatela, and Kyle Harrison. Certainly not Chandler Patrick. Patrick should absolutely be on this roster especially because his length may (hopefully not) be needed. Senzatela and May have been Putrid late season acquisitions. Good thing Big Hoss Arnold (did anyone see his guns in the celebration! Man’s been throwing some weights around) got the JoJo Romero acquisition clean right. Along with pretty much everything else.

 

Romero has been awesome. The one run he gave up in the postseason wasn’t even a bad pitch.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

On 10/17/2026 at 3:42 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

Good article, but I'll quibble with the Patrick comment. I don't think it was lack of trust so much as they simply didn't need him. Heck, they almost didn't need Senzatela who more-or-less fills the same role.

As for Woodruff, the nice thing about this is that with a week off he'll get to face hitters & be put in game-type situations. If that test is passed I'd certainly put him in the hopper with May, Anderson & Harrison for the final two spots.

Good points. Patrick was at least throwing a few times. It seems obvious the kind of situation they want him in (trailing by a few runs, needing to get through an inning with a guy who isn't top of your list but is good enough to get you outs), and it just never showed up.

I think Anderson is a good name to remember. He's a solid member of that bullpen, but I'm not sure they prefer him to any of their righties, and not even to their worst lefty in Harrison. Maybe that changes if he's fully healthy. 

I'd bet Woodruff makes it, and I'd be surprised if May were left off. I think we go 13 and 13 again, especially if we're facing the Rays and their more right-handed pitching staff. In that instance, I see Harrison being a straight swap for Woody, even though the Rays are better against RHP. We already have a lot of lefties. We're going to throw Hall, Ashby, and Romero quite a bit (probably two of the three in each close game). Gasser will start Game 3 and maybe get bullpen work in later games. Drohan may get a couple more innings. If we had a better lefty than Harrison sitting at home, he'd probably get the nod over Woody, but we don't. 

[Frisbee Slider]

18 hours ago, Trail said:

Frankly I’m a bit unhappy with Woody doing this so publicly. If the brewers say no, it creates a PR problem and a distraction at a time when there should be none.  

It seems very unlikely that Woodruff would say or do anything that does not align with the front office. The team has had ample opportunities to shut the conversation down but hasn’t. 
 

Milwaukee has essentially used nine pitchers, if you consider Drohan’s 1 IP, Senzatela’s 0 IP in LCS and nothing from Harrison or Patrick. Woodruff could fill those roles without worry.

[gregmag]

If the man can throw one inning with his fastball at 92, that’s likely to be a better inning than any of Patrick, Drohan, May, Harrison, or Senzetella can give you. The question is just which of those five to dump.  

Senzetella is a real RH relief pitcher who seems to have found his footing.  The others are all length guys. Harrison looked great in his last appearance and could actually make a difference. Patrick if he’s right can give you three good innings. I’d keep both of them. 

Drohan may just be out of gas. If so, dump him. But if you have any hope that he has a pint left in the tank, May is the guy to dump. Yes, he has great stuff, but he hasn’t shown that he has any clue about how to get guys out with it. Beyond that, he can’t handle adversity. He’s the one guy on this team who doesn’t deserve his place. If the Brewers think he’s better than Bryse Wilson or Grant Anderson, fine, they know more than I do. But there’s no way he’s better than Shane Drohan with a pulse or Brandon Woodruff with a prayer. 

[Sixtolezcano]

6 hours ago, gregmag said:

If the man can throw one inning with his fastball at 92, that’s likely to be a better inning than any of Patrick, Drohan, May, Harrison, or Senzetella can give you. The question is just which of those five to dump.  

Senzetella is a real RH relief pitcher who seems to have found his footing.  The others are all length guys. Harrison looked great in his last appearance and could actually make a difference. Patrick if he’s right can give you three good innings. I’d keep both of them. 

Drohan may just be out of gas. If so, dump him. But if you have any hope that he has a pint left in the tank, May is the guy to dump. Yes, he has great stuff, but he hasn’t shown that he has any clue about how to get guys out with it. Beyond that, he can’t handle adversity. He’s the one guy on this team who doesn’t deserve his place. If the Brewers think he’s better than Bryse Wilson or Grant Anderson, fine, they know more than I do. But there’s no way he’s better than Shane Drohan with a pulse or Brandon Woodruff with a prayer. 

I truly doubt that Woodruff has ANY chance of even throwing a 92 mph fastball in a MLB game. Let’s face it any pitcher who hasn’t thrown in a MLB game in 15 weeks should in no way be considered to be rostered on a WS team. Great story, however if Arnold and Murphy decide to add Woodruff to the roster that would be a dereliction of their jobs. Yes they did just sweep the Dodgers, however I DOUBT the Rays or Indians will not give them everything they got in win and with a chance to win their first WS ever I would never give either team any edge at all and sacrifice one rostered player for winning. It’s like tying one hand behind your back. Would you possibly give up that chance to make Woodruff feel better? Let’s face it this is for a WS title and is not a Hollywood movie. Sentimental feeling for a hard luck pitcher has absolutely no place in winning a title after a 44 year wait to get there, no matter who they are.

[Sixtolezcano]

On 10/17/2026 at 1:56 PM, Michael Trzinski said:

I'd say put him on as long as he can be replaced if he gets re-injured.
Per MLB.com:

What happens if a postseason-eligible player gets injured during a series?

In the event of a player injury, a club may request permission from the commissioner's office to replace said player during the course of a series, but that player is ineligible to play for the rest of that round and the subsequent round, if there is one.

A pitcher must be replaced by another pitcher, and a position player must be replaced by another position player.

He deserves to be there!!!

The only player that deserves to be rostered on a WS team is one we are absolutely certain is healthy enough to pitch and not for sentimental sake.