Brandon Woodruff Makes World Series Roster, Replaces Chad Patrick (Full Roster Enclosed)

[MrTPlush]

In the end I think this is the right move. I could see myself pondering ‘what if Woodruff had been on the roster instead of Patrick’ for many years…I can’t say I would ever ponder the same about Patrick. Go big or go home. 
 

Congrats to Woodruff, he earned it. Here is to hoping it pays off.

[dlk9s]

[liveforoctober]

He is starting Gm4, gut feeling.

[markedman5]

Yeah they wanted to cover themselves with length which explains Harrison over Patrick

[MrTPlush]

1 minute ago, markedman5 said:

Yeah they wanted to cover themselves with length which explains Harrison over Patrick

I believe being a lefty was also a strong Harrison advantage.

[jason21nl]

The heart loves this move, the brain questions it.   

[MrTPlush]

3 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

He is starting Gm4, gut feeling.

Will be interesting to see what they do with him. 
 

Going into the series, I am not sure he is treated any differently than Patrick due to his injury risk. Probably will avoid using him unless necessary. 

[Team Canada]

Quite the fall from last year and the way Patrick opened eyes in the playoffs. They must really not trust him to throw strikes anymore.

[Steve Drumwright]

All of the work he did to even potentially just pitch one inning in the World Series paid off.

Brandon Woodruff is on the Milwaukee Brewers' roster for the World Series.

Woodruff, whose career nearly ended unceremoniously when he walked off the mound with a bum right shoulder July 4, was an emotional addition to the Brewers' 26-man roster that was announced Friday. The Brewers open the 2026 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday (7 p.m. CT, Fox).

Woodruff's addition to the roster comes at the expense of right-hander Chad Patrick being left off. Patrick has not pitched in a postseason game this year despite being on the roster for both previous rounds. No other changes were made to the Brewers' roster from the previous two rounds.

The 33-year-old right-hander, a stalwart of the Brewers' rotation until a shoulder injury sidelined him just before the 2024 postseason, has only faced hitters in live batting practice Tuesday since that devastating July 4 day, the third setback of 2026 during Woodruff's comeback from surgery three years ago. The start to his season was also slightly delayed and he then went on the injured list following an April 30 game from which he was also removed. Both games he left happened to be against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Woodruff is the Brewers' longest-tenured player and was one of the team's top starting pitchers until his shoulder issue popped up on the eve of the 2023 postseason, preventing him from pitching. Surgery took him out of all of 2024 and he was on the comeback trail in 2025 when a couple non-shoulder injuries set him back again. He did, however, return to the mound to make 11 starts last year, posting a 3.17 FIP (3.20 ERA) with a stellar 5.4% walk rate and 32.3% strikeout rate. But he broke down again late in the season and wasn't available for the postseason as the Brewers were short on starting pitching.

One of the concerns with Woodruff potentially getting hurt again if he pitches in the World Series was the Brewers' ability to replace him on the roster. Players who get hurt during the postseason are typically eligible to be replaced, but there is a clause about preexisting injuries and a player being removed from a roster. Replacements must be approved by MLB and preexisting injuries have not always been approved when a player gets reinjured and MLB had indicated to the Brewers that it would not allow a substitute should Woodruff get hurt.

 

 

 

 

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Woodruff is a two-time All-Star who finished fifth in the 2021 NL Cy Young Award voting.

Meanwhile, the Rays made one roster change, bringing left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger back to the roster, replacing rookie right-hander Brody Hopkins.

 

 

 

 

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[long ball]

5 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

He is starting Gm4, gut feeling.

That’s been my gut feeling as well. 
 

I posted on bkuesky back when Curt broke the story that he’s making a rehab attempt that the most logical role for him was an opener if he can make his way back. 
 

I think the brewers implicitly trust him to execute his locations. His velocity was fine and they must’ve liked his pitch shapes. 

[torts]

[liveforoctober]

5 minutes ago, long ball said:

That’s been my gut feeling as well. 
 

I posted on bkuesky back when Curt broke the story that he’s making a rehab attempt that the most logical role for him was an opener if he can make his way back. 
 

I think the brewers implicitly trust him to execute his locations. His velocity was fine and they must’ve liked his pitch shapes. 

To me this is the only way it makes sense to put him on the roster. If his shoulder doesn't respond/recover from revving up and throwing competitive pitches ... that is it. He is a one use guy. Murphy has mentioned that a few times ... I don't think the Brewers would risk it. So you start him in Gm4 and are asking him to get 9-12 outs or whatever. Your Gm4 starter likely isn't going to be used again anyway...

May slides into the bullpen role and provides both length and an available righty to combat the Caminero/Diaz inning as many times as needed.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Got to feel for Patrick, who pitched well this year overall. Has to be brutal being left off even if he was going to be the last name called, and watching everyone celebrate as you're replaced by a guy who has hardly been able to stay on the field. I get that it's a Kodak moment but I feel awful for the guy.

[folly412]

Didn't think it would be Patrick left off the roster, but it does make sense.  The walk rate is too high for the playoffs, and the potential blow-up too risky.  Left hoping for 2025 Playoff Patrick without the 2026 numbers to support it.

[Bulldogboy]

I love Woody as much as anyone that said this is clearly a heart over head decision. A lifetime achievement award that the organization loves to roll out at times. Not only is there a risk everytime he throws a pitch he's done but hasn't even pitched in a game in months now we are pitching him in the World Series? Just doesn't make sense. Will I cheer when he is out there you bet. Would I have done it? Not a chance. 

[adambr2]

2 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Got to feel for Patrick, who pitched well this year overall. Has to be brutal being left off even if he was going to be the last name called, and watching everyone celebrate as your replaced by a guy who has hardly been able to stay on the field. I get that it's a Kodak moment but I feel awful for the guy.

Yeah, performance wise, although I feel great for Woodruff, this doesn’t really feel very fair to Patrick. He pitched well this year, is really good at his best, and pitched well in the playoffs last season. 

I guess it comes down to walking almost a batter an inning lately, there’s just too much risk for a staff that has already struggled at times with walks in the playoffs. 

I'd feel a lot better if it had been May over Patrick, who has given us literally every single possible reason to leave him off, but they are clearly riding him to the end. 

[PlayerHader]

4 minutes ago, Bulldogboy said:

I love Woody as much as anyone that said this is clearly a heart over head decision. A lifetime achievement award that the organization loves to roll out at times. Not only is there a risk everytime he throws a pitch he's done but hasn't even pitched in a game in months now we are pitching him in the World Series? Just doesn't make sense. Will I cheer when he is out there you bet. Would I have done it? Not a chance. 

Is that really the risk? One pitch could be the end? He threw with the dead arm a few times, and was really surprisingly successful, including the K-rate. I'd imagine he could grind out 7-8 outs even if he loses his velocity after a few batters in Gm 4.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

4 minutes ago, Bulldogboy said:

I love Woody as much as anyone that said this is clearly a heart over head decision. A lifetime achievement award that the organization loves to roll out at times. Not only is there a risk everytime he throws a pitch he's done but hasn't even pitched in a game in months now we are pitching him in the World Series? Just doesn't make sense. Will I cheer when he is out there you bet. Would I have done it? Not a chance. 

Ehh I don't buy it. Too smart for that. This is simply taking the upside of a guy who when he has actually pitched this season, looks like an all-star, vs. your 12th arm. If they were not impressed by his workout, no way they do this.

And let's not act like SP hasn't been a problem. We've played around it, but I do wonder how many times you can go to Gasser and get the right result and we still have the May situation on our hands. It makes plenty of sense.

[PlayerHader]

3 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Ehh I don't buy it. Too smart for that. This is simply taking the upside of a guy who when he has actually pitched this season, looks like an all-star, vs. your 12th arm. If they were not impressed by his workout, no way they do this.

And let's not act like SP hasn't been a problem. We've played around it, but I do wonder how many times you can go to Gasser and get the right result and we still have the May situation on our hands. It makes plenty of sense.

Exactly. There is pretty good upside here. Risk comes into play if we have a couple of extra inning games, but I still like our staff in that setup.

[MrTPlush]

I feel bad for Patrick, but he put himself in this situation. 5 walks, 2 wild pitches, 1 HBP, a 4 run implosion in the last game of the year.

For a guy to likely come in mid-inning…you just can’t do that. Just unfortunate timing for him to struggle.

[owbc]

After I saw Woody throwing 90-92 I knew he was gonna make it. 

This is about experience and results. He has a career 1.90 FIP in 28.1 postseason innings. He was pitching at a high level earlier this season. 

Do I dream about him being on the mound for the final out? Absolutely. I don't know if it will happen but the crowd is going to go absolutely wild if he makes an appearance. 

[wildcat83]

Feel bad for Patrick, who was really good last postseason.  When healthy Woody has been effective though, so if he's needed, which isn't a for sure thing, I think he'll be ok to get through a lineup one time.  I think there's also a pretty good chance that just like Patrick in the first 2 series, he never actually takes the mound.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

3 minutes ago, owbc said:

After I saw Woody throwing 90-92 I knew he was gonna make it. 

This is about experience and results. He has a career 1.90 FIP in 28.1 postseason innings. He was pitching at a high level earlier this season. 

Do I dream about him being on the mound for the final out? Absolutely. I don't know if it will happen but the crowd is going to go absolutely wild if he makes an appearance. 

Crowd might go wild but it will be the large contingent traveling to Tampa, I think.

I think he is going to start Game 4. They have 1-3 down. They really don't have a good choice for 4. May is a bullpen inning or two. Woodruff really fills a need, that is why I think this happened. Not because it makes them feel warm and fuzzy.

[TURBO]

If Woodruff is on the roster, he will pitch. 

I think it's crazy for anyone to think we'd roster him and have him on the bench the entire series. 

If he's on the roster, he will pitch, it's just a matter of when they find the right time for him to do so.

This isn't the same thing as Patrick being on the roster for the Dodger series and not throwing a pitch.  Woody will pitch, book it!

[Turnbows Barber]

Love it for Woody, by all accounts he is a great guy and to be able to finish his Brewers career (assuming he's not back next year) contributing to a World Series win would be a fairy tale ending.

As far as the baseball side of things, I trust the judgement of the Brewers baseball people and that they believe he is the best option to get outs in this series of those being considered for that last roster spot.