Brandon Woodruff's disheartening injury has Brewers facing difficult rotation reality

Resilience is certainly not something Brandon Woodruff lacks. The Milwaukee Brewers' starting pitcher has battled injury after injury over the last three years, and every time, he returns to the mound and does whatever it takes to help his team win. The process, which was kick-started by a major shoulder reconstruction back in fall of 2023, has involved Woodruff rehabbing during the entirety of the 2024 season, battling through unfortunate injuries as his long-awaited return neared in 2025, and then having to watch last year's postseason run from the dugout after a poorly timed oblique strain landed him on the IL in late September.

It's been an incredibly frustrating process for Woodruff, who has remained optimistic and supportive of his team throughout. When healthy, the 33-year-old right-hander continues to be effective, re-shaping his arsenal however necessary in order to help his team win in whatever way he can. After missing nearly two months following a "dead arm" incident that was ultimately labeled as shoulder inflammation, Woodruff returned to the Brewers' rotation on June 22 and turned in a pair of scoreless outings over the next week. In those two starts, which came against the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, Woody threw a combined 11.2 innings, allowed just two total hits, and struck out 16 batters.

However, in his third start back from the IL last night, Woodruff was tasked with facing the team whom he was pitching against when his dead arm incident popped up back in April, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pitching in Arizona last night, Woodruff's velocity once again began to dip, just as it did back in April, and manager Pat Murphy ultimately made the decision to pull his veteran right-hander in the fourth inning after just 61 pitches.

Just moments ago, the Brewers officially announced that Woodruff has been placed back on the IL with shoulder inflammation and that left-hander Drew Rom has been recalled from Triple-A to fill Woody's spot on the roster.

Brandon Woodruff's recurring shoulder issues creates questions about Brewers' second-half rotation in 2026

As previously mentioned, it took Woodruff two months to get back to a place where he felt comfortable on a major league mound when he experienced a similar bout of shoulder inflammation back in April. Another two-month recovery process would have Woodruff back in the Brewers' rotation in early September.

While the two situations aren't necessarily identical -- Woodruff did have a minor procedure to drain fluid from his shoulder back in early May -- expecting Woody to quickly rejoin the Brewers' rotation after his placement back on the IL feels like foolish optimism. Rather, the fact that this has now become a recurring issue seems to suggest that the Brewers and Woodruff will be even more cautious this time around.

The unfortunate reality calls into question what the Brewers' rotation will look like down the stretch and into the postseason. Treating any further starts that they get from Woodruff as "bonus" starts leaves Milwaukee with a rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Logan Henderson, Brandon Sproat, and some combination of Shane Drohan, Robert Gasser, and Coleman Crow. The Brewers have plenty of options, and a majority of the names above have posted impressive numbers in the big leagues this year. However, for a team with World Series aspirations, Milwaukee may need to add another top-tier starter to their rotation in order to finally defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason.

With the midseason trade deadline looming, Woodruff's injury could push the Brewers to get more aggressive in their pursuit of a starting pitcher. The obvious top prize would be Detroit Tigers' ace Tarik Skubal, but names like Casey Mize and Joe Ryan offer intriguing alternatives.

Woodruff's devastating injury confirms that Milwaukee can't rely on their veteran starter to be healthy for the stretch run in 2026. He may end up being healthy, which would be a huge bonus for the Brewers, but such a reality can't be ensured, and Milwaukee must have an alternative in place. The question then becomes: do the Brewers trust their internal options to fill Woody's role as the No. 3 starter behind Miz and Harrison, or do they need to make a splash before the August 3rd trade deadline?

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