Brandon Woodruff threw 60 of his 83 pitches for strikes over five innings of his rehab start for Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, topping out at 94.4 mph and allowing two runs on seven hits, with one walk and six strikeouts. It was mostly soft contact, with the exception of Orioles top prospect Samuel Basallo connecting with a fastball for a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth inning.
There was plenty to dissect in the outing, which is precisely what Woodruff and club officials will do as soon as Wednesday as they ponder the most important question yet in the right-hander’s long comeback from right shoulder surgery.
Is he ready to return to the Major Leagues?
Here are the options: Woodruff could make one more rehab start on Sunday, which happens to be the final day of his 30-day Minor League rehab assignment. Or, he could rejoin the Brewers for his first start in the Major Leagues since Sept. 23, 2023. Brewers front office officials, coaches and Woodruff will collaborate on that decision when he returns to Milwaukee, which he’s done between each of his five rehab starts so far.
Of course, Woodruff’s health and readiness to face Major League hitters is the most important variable. But it’s not the only variable. There’s also the matter of roster management, since the rules allow only one travel day after the end of his 30-day rehab window before the Brewers must activate Woodruff from the injured list.
So, if Woodruff were to pitch Sunday in Nashville, he would travel to Cleveland to join the Brewers on Monday and be activated from the IL on Tuesday. The Brewers would then have to essentially play one pitcher short until Woodruff is ready to start during the May 16-18 series against the Twins at American Family Field.
But if Woodruff and the Brewers decide he’s ready to pitch in the Majors, he could travel with the team for the start of its weeklong road trip and start either Sunday at Tampa Bay on four days’ rest or Monday at Cleveland on five days’ rest. Considering Woodruff’s workload on Tuesday – his 83 pitches were nine more than his previous outing – the Cleveland series may be the better bet in that scenario.
The Brewers have not yet announced any probable pitchers for any games of the road trip.
“We’re navigating that right now,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re trying to get all boats in the same harbor, and then we’ll make a final decision.”
Either way, the thought of Woodruff nearing the big leagues is a tantalizing concept. His 3.10 ERA in 130 appearances for Milwaukee since 2017 is best in franchise history among pitchers with at least 500 innings in a Brewers uniform.
“I’m going to be excited the day that he’s here,” Murphy said. “I think everybody in the stadium and everybody in the organization, especially anybody that’s played with him before, you anticipate that excitement. But until that happens, you don’t let your mind go there for too long.”
Murphy has been doing his own homework on Woodruff, watching video of each Minor League outing. He wrote out a scouting report after viewing Woodruff’s previous outing for High-A Wisconsin on April 30.
“If you didn’t know who he was, you’d say, ‘Wow, he needs to do this better,’ or, ‘He needs to do that. Wow, that isn’t very consistent. Oh, that’s not competitive,’” Murphy said. “But if you know Woody, you know the big stage is going to affect him in a positive way. So there’s a lot to be encouraged about.”
Or, as pitching coach Chris Hook put it, “This guy has pitched in some of the biggest games in Brewers history. I don’t know if it’s realistic to expect him to go to Appleton [Wis.] or Nashville and just turn it on.”
Woodruff, 32, is in the second season of a two-year contract he signed with the Brewers while beginning his recovery from surgery.