Brandon

Woodruff

We have to admit, we’re a bit confused. On Monday, Woodruff gave an interview where he said that he wasn’t sure if he would be ready for Opening Day. Perhaps he meant that literally, and the Brewers are suggesting he’ll start one of the other games to begin the season? All we know for sure is that Woodruff will throw a live batting practice session on March 1 and then begin his game progression. If all goes well, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to be ready for Opening Day, but considering he ended last season with a lat injury and began last season by recovering from shoulder capsule surgery, there is plenty of risk here.

Woodruff said he had a normal offseason while waiting for his lat strain to heal, but that it was still decided to bring him along a little slowly this spring. He threw 25 pitchers to hitters today, which is basically what the rest of the league’s starters are doing in game action, so he doesn’t seem far behind. He did indicate that he was likely in line for one more sim game before pitching in a spring game.

A healthy Woodruff seems like a bargain at this rate, especially if his velocity improves some in his second year back from shoulder surgery. Regardless, just the one-year obligation makes this a clear winner. The Brewers are currently looking at a rotation of Freddy Peralta, Woodruff, Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski, with Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and maybe Andy Ashby in the mix for the fifth spot.

Once it’s official, he’ll be put right back on Milwaukee’s roster. We’d say this is great news for the Brewers, though they might look for some additional financial flexibility now. Perhaps trading Freddy Peralta could be back on the table.

Passan adds that Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, Edwin Díaz, Zac Gallen, Shota Imanaga, Michael King, Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres and Brandon Woodruff are the other dozen impending free agent to receive the tag prior to Thursday evening’s deadline. They have until Tuesday, November 18 to decide whether to accept the one-year deal or decline and become free agents. Only 14 of 144 players to receive a qualifying offer since 2012 have actually accepted it. It’s worth noting that players who were on multiple teams — Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez — along with players who have previously received a qualifying offer — Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman — were ineligible to receive one this offseason.

Woodruff heads to the open market this offseason in search of a longer term financial commitment after receiving a $10 million buyout. The 32-year-old veteran right-hander was outstanding during the regular season for Milwaukee in his return from a nearly two-year absence due to shoulder surgery, compiling a strong 3.20 ERA and 83/14 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings over 12 starts. His status remains a bit up in the air heading into next spring after missing the postseason due to a lat strain.

McCalvy adds that Woodruff hasn’t progressed to playing catch as he recovers from a lat strain and won’t be an option for Milwaukee for the best-of-seven series against the Dodgers. The 32-year-old veteran could potentially be ready to contribute in the World Series, if the Brewers manage to make it past the defending champions. There should be an additional update on his status for a potential Fall Classic matchup at some point in the coming days.

Misiorowski’s role heading into the postseason remains a bit unclear following his late-season struggles. However, the hard-throwing 23-year-old and fellow former top prospect Robert Gasser are expected to factor greatly into Milwaukee’s pitching plans with veteran Brandon Woodruff (lat) out of the mix. Jose Quintana, Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick are also on the roster as starting options in the best-of-five series against the division-rival Cubs. The other notable development is Andrew Vaughn getting the nod with Rhys Hoskins being left off the roster entirely.

Woodruff finished the season on the IL with a lat strain and has yet to resume throwing, so an NLCS return would still seem to be a long shot. The good news is that Woodruff’s shoulder surgeon deemed the current problem separate from the previous injury.

It’s a massive development for the playoff-bound Brewers with manager Pat Murphy adding that Woodruff has been diagnosed with a moderate strain and that it’s too early to determine his postseason availability. The 32-year-old veteran will undergo further evaluation after suffering the injury earlier this weekend during a routine bullpen session. He’s in clear jeopardy of missing the playoffs with his potential absence likely thrusting some combination of top prospect Jacob Misiorowski and left-handers Robert Gasser and Jose Quintana (calf) into a more prominent roles at the outset of October behind Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester.