Brewers place ball in Brandon Woodruff's court with latest contract decision

A few weeks ago, I detailed the various options that the Milwaukee Brewers had in retaining their longtime fan favorite Brandon Woodruff for 2026 and beyond. Plan A was to have Woody agree to his $20 million mutual option, but with a $10 million buyout and a looming qualifying offer that was a much higher dollar amount, there was practically zero chance of that happening.

On Monday afternoon, Woodruff officially declined his mutual option, leading to Plan B: the qualifying offer. The qualifying offer, which can technically be extended to any player who hasn't received one in the past and spent the entire last season with the same team, is essentially a one-year deal with a dollar amount that is calculated by taking the average of the top 125 contracts in MLB. This year, the qualifying offer is worth $22.05 million.

If a player declines the qualifying offer and subsequently signs a new deal with another team, the team that extended the offer is entitled to compensation via draft picks. The placement of the draft picks in next year's MLB Draft is determined by the size of the contract that the player signs with their new team. A season ago, after the Brewers extended Willy Adames the qualifying offer, he declined, and then signed with the San Francisco Giants for $182 million. The Brewers were awarded the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, which they used to select high school infielder Brady Ebel.

Just moments ago, ESPN's MLB insider, Jeff Passan, revealed that the Brewers have officially extended the qualifying offer to Woodruff, meaning the ball is now in his court in regard to whether or not he wants to return to the Brewers for one more season.

Brewers officially extend qualifying offer to Brandon Woodruff

Woodruff now faces what might be the toughest decision of his major league career. He can either return to the Brewers, the club that drafted him, developed him, and stuck by him when he had a major shoulder surgery, for one more season and earn a $22.05 million salary, which would be the largest single-year salary of his career, or he can decline the offer and search for a long-term deal that will provide him guaranteed money for many years to come.

The main concern for Woody in this difficult decision is health. If he could guarantee a healthy 2026 season, it would behoove him to take the qualifying offer, re-establish himself as one of the league's best arms, and earn an even bigger contract next offseason. Unfortunately, Woody has battled injuries over the last two seasons, including a lat injury that kept him out of the 2025 postseason, and there's no guarantee he remains off the IL in 2026. Another injury next year would significantly hurt his chances of earning the big payday that he could bring home this offseason.

Brewers fans also face a difficult dilemma. Woody is no doubt a fan favorite and has been since his memorable 2018 season. He's been through thick and thin with the Brew Crew but always maintained a positive and appreciative outlook that earned him an unwavering support from the Milwaukee faithful. As a result, most Brewers fans have a tough time even imagining Woody wearing a different jersey. However, $22.05 million is a lot of money for a team whose payroll generally hovers around the $120 million mark, and signing Woody to the second-most expensive salary on the team for 2026 (Christian Yelich is set to earn ~$24 million in 2026) could hamstring the team financially and prevent them from improving the roster elsewhere.

Woodruff has until the 18th of November to make a decision. Even if he declines the qualifying offer, it doesn't prevent him from re-signing with the Brewers on a longer-term deal, but at that point it will be hard to ignore the higher offers coming in from other clubs. There's plenty for Woody to consider, and with just 12 days to make a decision, it's likely that his final answer isn't right around the corner.