Brewers' struggling reliever opts out of contract, signs with Chicago Cubs

Right-hander Jake Woodford wasn't initially a part of the Milwaukee Brewers' 2026 plans, but when injuries to Rob Zastryzny, Logan Henderson, Quinn Priester, and Craig Yoho popped up during spring training, the Brew Crew's pitching staff found themselves short-handed with the regular season rapidly approaching. As a result, on March 24, two days before Opening Day, the Brewers swung a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire right-hander Jake Woodford for pitching prospect K.C. Hunt and cash considerations.

As a former starter, who was drafted by and broke into the league with the St. Louis Cardinals, Woodford offered the Brewers another multi-inning option out of their bullpen who could cover low-leverage situations and give Milwaukee's "A bullpen" a day off here and there. It was a role that Woodford honorably filled for the first two months of the 2026 season, and, for a few weeks, the 29-year-old right-hander looked like another one of the Brewers' trade success stories. When the calendar flipped to May, Woodford was sporting a 4.30 ERA that was by no means head-turning, but was solid for a reliever asked only to appear in games that were essentially already decided.

However, the month of May was less kind to Woodford. The Brewers' reliever made five appearances during the month and allowed earned runs in four of them. A four-run, five-out appearance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Memorial Day Weekend ballooned Woodford's season-long ERA up north of 6.00. When the right-hander turned in a comparable performance against the San Francisco Giants two weeks later, during which he allowed four earned runs in three innings of work, the Brewers decided to designate Woodford for assignment.

Woodford cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Brewers -- an assignment that the seven-year veteran declined. However, almost immediately after rejecting the outright assignment, Woodford signed a new minor league contract with the Brewers, signaling that he wanted an opt-out clause in his deal to incentivize Milwaukee to promote him back to the big-league roster. Said promotion didn't come before Woodford's opt-out date, which was last Wednesday.

Three days after opting out of his contract, Woodford was officially granted his release, as the Brewers didn't promote him to the major league squad in the interim. After less than a day on the free agent market, Woodford elected to sign a major league contract with the Brewers' biggest rivals, the Chicago Cubs.

Jake Woodford joins Cubs on major league deal after opting out of minor league contract with Brewers

Woodford's brief time spent on the free agent market can be attributed to the fact that Chicago was offering to give him a major league contract despite the 29-year-old right-hander recently opting out of a minor league deal with the Brewers. The major league pact ensures Woodford a spot on the Cubs' 40-man roster, and since the veteran hurler is out of minor league options, it granted him a spot on their active 26-man roster as well.

The Cubs' decision to hand Woodford a major league contract signals just how desperate they've become amid their growing injury problem. With 13 pitchers currently on the injured list, including starters like Edward Cabrera, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown, and Cade Horton, the Cubs are scrambling for arms, and though it's been a tough season for Woodford, he has major league experience and is familiar with the organization -- Woodford spent a month in the Cubs' organization last summer.

Woodford signed his deal with the Cubs on July 4th, and was available out of their bullpen in yesterday afternoon's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, but didn't make an appearance. He's likely to assume a similar role to the one he held in Milwaukee until he shows signs that he can be trusted in higher leverage situations. With several arms set to return to the Cubs' roster in the near future, Woodford's time in Chicago could be brief, but he will certainly earn opportunities to prove himself in the meantime.

The Brewers weren't able to unlock the potential they saw in Woodford, and in general, if Milwaukee's excellent pitching department can't find success with a certain arm, it's unlikely that success comes elsewhere. However, maybe Woodford will be the exception. The innings are certainly available in Chicago, and it wasn't long ago -- four years -- that Woodford was maintaining a sub-3.00 ERA in the Cardinals' bullpen.

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