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

[tmwiese55]

I've been expecting him on and my guess is the plan is for him to start game 4 and hope for 3-4 innings.   I'm mostly surprised they took Patrick out instead of Harrison.  You don't' need a zillion lefties vs TB like you did LA.  And while I get the tough to trust Patrick now its definitely harder to trust Harrison in any big situation.  Patrick at least has been used a normal reliver all year and is used to it and was their 3rd best guy for a good chunk of the year.   

They must trust that they have Harrison fixed but man I don't know how you'd feel comfortable putting him out there in 1 run game in a role he's never done before.   All this time off could've been what Patrick needed to recharge after the struggles at the end

[MrTPlush]

9 minutes ago, TURBO said:

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!

Oh, he will pitch. Just not sure it will happen before a point in the series where if his shoulder blows it doesn’t matter much to be down a pitcher. That’s probably Game 4 (barring an extra innings game).

Patrick didn’t pitch in the NLCS…but it also went a grand ole 4 games. I don’t know if Harrison/Patrick go unused if that series goes 6+ games. Woodruff may never pitch either if this lasts 4 games.

[RobertCrawley]

35 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 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.

I feel bad for him too, but he has one person to blame. 

[RobertCrawley]

35 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. 

I don't think the organization would make a heart over head decision. He must be throwing well enough to be effective.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

11 minutes ago, RobertCrawley said:

I feel bad for him too, but he has one person to blame. 

Agree, Brandon Woodruff 😆

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

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. 

They were never going to leave May off the roster with how much the Rays struggle against fastballs....He also provides more length in a 7 game series. 

[igor67]

Certainly if Patrick didn't fall off in September I can't imagine this decision going the same way, but then it probably would have been Harrison.

For a long time power guy he really seemed to transition to still being effective with lower velocity really quickly. So unbalance my head and heart are in the same place on this one. Ultimately pitch him so we got all the storybook moments. I wouldn't even be surprised at this point if people are stopping the game films to try and spot Ueck's ghost watching over Woody.

[adambr2]

12 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

They were never going to leave May off the roster with how much the Rays struggle against fastballs....He also provides more length in a 7 game series. 

I hear the rationalizations for May literally before every single series on why he shouldn’t be left off. 

Then he gets into a game and the results are almost always bad.

[MrTPlush]

The argument is Patrick and Woodruff.

Sometimes I wonder why the argument isn’t Sanzetela and Patrick. Really just comes down to walks?

[adambr2]

4 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

The argument is Patrick and Woodruff.

Sometimes I wonder why the argument isn’t Sanzetela and Patrick. Really just comes down to walks?

And I’m arguing it shouldn’t be Patrick and Woodruff. 

In fact yeah, I’d argue it should be May or Senzatela.

Its not as if Senzatela doesn’t struggle with command at times himself. 

[DesertBrew52]

16 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

I hear the rationalizations for May literally before every single series on why he shouldn’t be left off. 

Then he gets into a game and the results are almost always bad.

I agree. Ohtani’s only highlight was a three run blast on May. He has a decent arsenal but I don’t trust his command against big bats. 

[thammondwis]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

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. 

I'm with you on this one.  Kind of surprised they didn't use Patrick at all in previous series, and May has not been dependable at all.  Scratch my head at this one, hope it's not a trying to save face move due to trading for May.

[LouisEly]

2026 Woody: 3.19 FIP, 0.838 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9

2026 Patrick: 4.17 FIP, 1.236 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9

Sure, 2026 Woody wasn't 2022/2023 Woody, but the only real argument for Patrick over Woody is health.  And if the plan is to use Woody as an opener for G4 and maybe an emergency inning in G7, then it's a really good argument for Woody.

[thammondwis]

1 hour ago, igor67 said:

Certainly if Patrick didn't fall off in September I can't imagine this decision going the same way, but then it probably would have been Harrison.

For a long time power guy he really seemed to transition to still being effective with lower velocity really quickly. So unbalance my head and heart are in the same place on this one. Ultimately pitch him so we got all the storybook moments. I wouldn't even be surprised at this point if people are stopping the game films to try and spot Ueck's ghost watching over Woody.

I'm not quite sure I would say he fell off in Sept.  He had 9 appearances in Sept.  The last appearance was bad, 4 runs.  He didn't give up any runs in the other appearances.

[dhoffman19]

1 hour ago, MrTPlush said:

The argument is Patrick and Woodruff.

Sometimes I wonder why the argument isn’t Sanzetela and Patrick. Really just comes down to walks?

I agree with this 100%.  As rough as Patrick was in September, Senzatela was far worse from July through September.  That's the only thing I don't get.   

[Brewers Downunder]

Obviously the toughest of tough breaks for Patrick, but given the selfless nature of this team, overall this has to be a great move and can only buoy the lads even more. Just one more reason why they will do everything to win this.

I expect Patrick will cop it on the chin and get to work for a successful 2027.

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

And I’m arguing it shouldn’t be Patrick and Woodruff. 

In fact yeah, I’d argue it should be May or Senzatela.

Its not as if Senzatela doesn’t struggle with command at times himself. 

Senzatela hasn't given up an earned run in more than a month and has been unscored upon in 9/10....Again, the Rays struggle heavily against fastballs, so his sinker/cutter/4 seamer arsenal is needed. 

[Brewcrew82]

19 minutes ago, thammondwis said:

I'm not quite sure I would say he fell off in Sept.  He had 9 appearances in Sept.  The last appearance was bad, 4 runs.  He didn't give up any runs in the other appearances.

He walked as many guys as he pitched innings. That's falling off and he got lucky not giving up more runs. 

[Brewcrew82]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

I hear the rationalizations for May literally before every single series on why he shouldn’t be left off. 

Then he gets into a game and the results are almost always bad.

You still need length in a 7 game series...Especially with Woody now on the roster.

[thebruce44]

3 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

I feel bad for him too, but he has one person to blame. 

Brandon Woodruff?

[bm1090]

2 hours ago, DesertBrew52 said:

I agree. Ohtani’s only highlight was a three run blast on May. He has a decent arsenal but I don’t trust his command against big bats. 

I actually thought May was solid to good in LA. One bad pitch then didn’t let it snowball.

but agree you can’t trust him 

[CheezWizHed]

So glad for Woody! 

But I'm surprised for Patrick.  I knew it would be May, Harrison or Patrick, but I thought Patrick was the best option of the three.  There are fewer LHB on Tampa, so Harrison seems more redundant.  May wasn't lights out so far...

My guess is that Patrick ended the year quasi injured/burned out?  He certainly was losing it at the end of the year.  I wonder if this was just a "save your arm" move. 

But 2025 Playoff Patrick was certainly a great asset. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

7 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

So glad for Woody! 

But I'm surprised for Patrick.  I knew it would be May, Harrison or Patrick, but I thought Patrick was the best option of the three.  There are fewer LHB on Tampa, so Harrison seems more redundant.  May wasn't lights out so far...

My guess is that Patrick ended the year quasi injured/burned out?  He certainly was losing it at the end of the year.  I wonder if this was just a "save your arm" move. 

But 2025 Playoff Patrick was certainly a great asset. 

I agree with all of this. I would've gone Harrison.

But I think it all comes down to Patrick being unable to start. That limits his usage. Every other guy can do both, so that feels like the tie-breaking variable.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I would've loved to be a fly in the stadium this past week, getting to see the workouts, bullpens, scrimmage situations. However the series unfolds, Woodruff has obviously ramped up enough in recent weeks to give them reason to believe he can be Brandon Woodruff for a game, or possibly two. Three innings, or maybe four or five. That's all you need. If so, that trumps a lot of the other options.  Just like with Hamilton, with Ortiz, even with Perkins, sentiment might be suspected but in the end, they've earned our trust. But like many, I didn't see it coming re Patrick being vulnerable.

I'll say this, it never was a Patrick vs Senzatela thing. Senzatela was prioritized over him during the entire post-season.

[Randall Buchek]

Is this a bribe to sign with the Brewers next year if he is healthy?  He does deserve the chance to pitch in the WS.  He has been with the team the longest.  Go Woodruff.