CLEVELAND -- Brandon Woodruff’s highly-anticipated return to the Brewers’ big-league rotation was put on hold Monday when the right-hander’s 30-day rehab assignment came to an end, but he remained on the 15-day injured list with a new concern: Right ankle tendinitis.
In the big picture of Woodruff’s multi-year comeback from right shoulder surgery, the ankle is believed to be a minor setback. But it’s a setback nonetheless, and it means that the 32-year-old will have to make at least one more start in the Minors on a new rehab assignment before the Brewers consider bringing him to the Major Leagues.
“He tried to go pitch on it, and it didn’t go the way he wanted it to,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “So he said. ‘I’m not ready.’”
It was a known issue going into Woodruff’s start for Triple-A Nashville on Sunday. Woodruff complained of ankle discomfort before that start, which was to be his final rehab outing before rejoining the Major League rotation this weekend against the Twins at American Family Field. After throwing 83 pitches over five innings in his previous start, Sunday’s start was planned to be shorter.
But not as short as it turned out to be.
Woodruff worked 2 1/3 innings and threw 39 pitches in his second straight start against Norfolk, which is Baltimore’s top affiliate. He allowed a run on two soft singles, didn’t walk a batter and struck out three while working with a fastball that was down a tick from his previous outing. His four-seamer topped out at 93.2 mph and averaged 90.7 mph, according to Statcast data.
On Sunday evening after the Brewers’ victory over the Rays in Tampa, Murphy initially attributed that to a pitcher knowing he was going into a “lower-volume day.” He and the coaches were preparing for a potentially tricky week, since they would have had to play one pitcher short between the expiration of Woodruff’s 30-day rehab window and the date he would be ready to join the rotation.
Now, that problem is moot.
Murphy said the rule for the current scenario is that Woodruff cannot pitch for an affiliate again for at least seven days. Whenever he’s ready to go again, the expectation is that he will test the ankle in the Minors, and not jump straight to the Majors, Murphy said.
Woodruff hasn’t pitched in the Majors since he developed shoulder discomfort during a Sept. 23, 2023 start in Miami. He missed that year’s postseason and underwent major shoulder surgery that October.
“This is a legitimate [ankle] injury, guys, just so you know,” Murphy said. “You can ready between the lines or make up what you want to make up, but the truth is it was there before he pitched, he tried to pitch on it and it didn’t go well in terms of how he felt.
“Our pitching guys and him, they all got together with the front office, and Woody made the decision, ‘I’m not going to come back yet.’”
Believe it or not, the Brewers also have a new health matter to worry about in their starting staff. Veteran left-hander Jose Quintana reported some upper arm discomfort in recent days, and while he was able to make his scheduled start in Tampa over the weekend, he won’t pitch as originally expected on Wednesday in Cleveland. Tentatively, he’ll start Friday’s series opener against the Twins instead.
That leaves Wednesday as an open date in the Brewers’ current pitching probables. The leading contender to pitch that game is Milwaukee's No. 12 prospect Logan Henderson, who already made one excellent start for the Brewers this season and is already on the 40-man roster. Henderson last started for Nashville on Thursday.