Brandon Woodruff is headed back to the injured list. Again. The Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has an inflamed labrum in his right shoulder, manager Pat Murphy confirmed after Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s the same issue that already sidelined him for six weeks earlier this season.
Woodruff left Saturday’s start in the fourth inning after his velocity dropped off a cliff. He threw 61 pitches before Murphy, pitching coach Chris Hook and athletic trainer Brad Epstein walked to the mound and pulled him. The 33-year-old gave up three earned runs on two hits over 3 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking one. He took the loss and fell to 2-2 with a 2.98 ERA.
His fastball started around 91-92 mph but by the fourth inning it was sitting at 86.6. His changeup dropped from 83 to 76.6 before he left. That’s not a blip. That’s a red flag.
Another setback for a guy who can’t catch a break
This was only Woodruff’s third start since returning from the IL. He had already pushed back a planned comeback on May 27 before finally rejoining the rotation June 22 after surgery to remove a cyst from his shoulder joint. In his first two starts back, on June 22 and June 28, he didn’t allow a run. Looked sharp. Then this.
The same shoulder inflammation hit him during an April 30 start against these same Diamondbacks and caused a velocity drop then too. So this is not new. It’s a pattern. And it’s a worrying one for a pitcher who already missed all of 2024 after surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder.
Since the start of 2023, Woodruff has made just 31 starts. He’s lost big chunks of two straight seasons now. The Brewers have to be asking themselves what they can realistically expect from him going forward.
The numbers when he’s healthy are still elite
Before Saturday, Woodruff had a 2.59 ERA and an absurd 0.84 WHIP across seven starts this year. That’s vintage Woodruff. The two-time All-Star has a 55-29 career record with a 3.08 ERA in 150 appearances for Milwaukee, 135 of them starts. His best season was 2021, when he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting with a 2.56 ERA and 0.965 WHIP over 30 starts.
But none of that matters if he can’t stay on the mound. The Brewers are fighting for a playoff spot and they’re now without one of their most reliable arms for an indefinite stretch. No timeline has been given for his return. And with this being the second flare-up of the same issue, it’s hard to be optimistic.
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