MLB playoffs: Brandon Woodruff injury announcement devastating to Brewers

Today would normally be a day when Milwaukee Brewers fans would be eagerly anticipating yet another chance for the Brewers to make a run deep into the playoffs. They have a rotation that is built to win a short series and their opponent in the wild card round, the Diamondbacks, just got swept to end their regular season.

Unfortunately, things have not gone to plan as it was announced by Brewers manager Craig Counsell that Brandon Woodruff is going to be out for the Wild Card series with what was described as a "right shoulder capsular injury". To say that this is bad news for the Brewers is an understatement.

Brandon Woodruff is out for the Brewers' playoff series against Arizona

One of the biggest things that Milwaukee had going for them going into the 2023 postseason was that they had Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff at the top of their rotation which is formidable for any offense to deal with in a postseason series. Now that Woodruff is officially out, that advantage is gone and that will put a lot more pressure on the offense to produce against a very dangerous Diamondbacks team.

It is unclear when Woodruff's injury popped up, but Milwaukee did steer away from him the final weekend of the regular season. There is also the matter of the large chunk of time Woodruff missed earlier this season dealing with shoulder issues as well. So far, no connection between the two injuries has been made but this does seem like one of those "where there is smoke, there's fire" situations and it is probably unreasonable to think that Woodruff would be available later on this postseason.

In short, it is a bad news day for the Brewers to be sure, but they still get their chance to make a run at a World Series title and are playing well right now. If this roster plays up to their potential, they should remain competitive. If not, this could be a short postseason appearance.

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