Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) resumes facing hitters

Woodruff, returning from a shoulder injury, allowed one run on a soft infield single and a ringing double from Yandy Díaz, but he looked fine in averaging 91.2 mph with his fastball and topping out at 93.1 mph. It was his first postseason appearance since the 2021 NLDS, when he lost a 3-0 game to the Braves and later pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.

It’s the only change for Milwaukee. Woodruff just faced hitters for the first time Tuesday, throwing 23 pitches and reportedly averaging 90-92 mph with his fastball. He last pitched on July 4 before going down with a recurrence of a shoulder injury that was originally expected to require season-ending surgery. The choice to put him on the roster here carries some risk, as the Brewers probably won’t be allowed to replace him if he suffers a setback. He takes the spot of Patrick, who hadn’t pitched in the postseason despite turning in a 3.40 ERA in 106 innings this year.

Woodruff, out since June after a shoulder setback, resumed facing hitters on Tuesday. The Brewers are concerned that Woodruff would likely be unable to be replaced on the World Series roster if he aggravates something while pitching. He’d probably be limited to one- or two-inning appearances if he does make the cut for the roster.

The rule for replacing injured players in the postseason is that it has to be a new injury, so the Brewers might be stuck with Woodruff on the roster and unable to pitch if something goes wrong. Woodruff hasn’t pitched since June because of a shoulder injury that was originally thought would require season-ending surgery. If he’s added to the World Series roster, it could be at the expense of Kyle Harrison, who has yet to pitch in the postseason.

Woodruff, who is trying to make his way back from another round of shoulder issues, said his stuff today was “pretty good.” He’s aiming to contribute if the Brewers advance to the World Series.

There hasn’t been any official clarity from either the Brewers or Woodruff after he underwent followup imaging on his shoulder in late September. The 33-year-old has been cleared to resume throwing and is presumably ramping up his pitch count and stamina in an effort to contribute if Milwaukee makes a deep postseason run.

Woodruff is holding out hope that he’ll be able to pitch at some point during Milwaukee’s upcoming playoff run after managing to avoid season-ending shoulder surgery. He’ll undergo imaging to determine his next steps and whether he’ll be cleared to progress to throwing bullpen sessions.

As of now, the plan is for the Brewers to “re-evaluate him for mound readiness at the end of September.” While it’s great that Woodruff is building back up, the fact that he is not pitching off a mound and won’t even be evaluated until the end of the month makes it seem unlikely he will pitch meaningful innings this postseason. Perhaps if the Brewers are able to advance, he could give them some innings out of the bullpen or as an opener, but it remains to be seen how effective he will even be.

This qualifies as an all-time unexpected late-season development. Woodruff told reporters last month that he was undergoing season-ending capsule surgery on his right shoulder. That didn’t end up happening after followup imaging showed better than expected healing to the point that Dr. Keith Meister told him that surgery wasn’t required. He’ll begin a five-week throwing progression next week with the aim of being ready to pitch for Milwaukee in the postseason. Unreal. He won’t be ready in time to help fantasy managers down the home stretch, but his unexpected return would be a massive development for the Brewers heading into the playoffs.

The history of pitchers returning from multiple shoulder surgeries is extremely bleak, but Woodruff has insisted that he plans on pitching again. The 33-year-old former fantasy ace will miss the remainder of the current season in addition to a significant chunk of next year as well. He missed nearly a year and a half after undergoing a similar capsule repair procedure back in 2023. This latest development certainly helps explain why Milwaukee went out and acquire Lance McCullers Jr. from the Astros earlier this week.