MILWAUKEE -- Brandon Woodruff is a multi-time winner of the Brewers’ Good Guy Award for his cooperation with the media, so it was a sign of how badly the right-hander was hurting that he wasn’t ready to publicly discuss the latest setback in his comeback from shoulder surgery when the club returned home on Friday.
Jim Henderson, the former Milwaukee closer who is now one of the club’s pitching coaches, empathized with Woodruff, needing more time to process. Henderson underwent two major shoulder injuries in his career. They were hard enough without the last-minute setbacks Woodruff has endured -- an ankle injury going into what was supposed to be his final rehab start in the middle of last month, then a 108.2 mph comebacker off his pitching elbow during what was (again) supposed to be his final rehab start this week.
“I’ve talked to him since he’s been back, and he’s just, like, ‘Trust in God,’” Henderson said before the Brewers’ 2-0 loss to the Padres at American Family Field. “The timeline, what’s meant to be is meant to be, whenever he gets back out there. I think everyone has seen, even when he made that outing in Spring Training in a big league game, that when he gets back out there, I think he’ll just black out and go for it and be the ‘Big Woo’ that we know.
“But the rest of it is hard to deal with, and it’s understandable to be frustrated with how he feels and then the setbacks on top of it. But I think he’s got a great opportunity here to jump back in and get into compete mode.”
Here’s the latest as of Friday: Woodruff, hit flush on the right elbow by that comebacker on Tuesday night in Nashville, had X-rays that night, followed by extensive testing in Milwaukee the next day, which showed no fractures. He was diagnosed with a bruise and will have to wait for the swelling to subside to be sure there is no tendon damage, according to manager Pat Murphy. Then Woodruff has to wait for the bone bruise to heal, which could take a couple of weeks, the Brewers say.
In the meantime the Brewers will continue to rely on starters like rookie Chad Patrick, who lowered his ERA to 2.84 with six innings of one-run ball against the Padres and represents one of Milwaukee’s pleasant surprises this season.
Patrick figures to remain in the rotation for some time, since whenever Woodruff is ready to pitch again, he will likely need multiple outings on a new rehab assignment, probably starting with a three-inning outing. The delay is particularly disheartening when you consider that it marked the second time in less than a month that Woodruff was one Minor League rehab start away from pitching in the Majors for the first time since September 2023.
So, he passed word through Brewers officials on Friday afternoon that he wasn’t quite ready to go on camera to talk about it.
“That is something I dealt with a lot,” Henderson said. “The media is going to ask you how you’re feeling, and you’re probably going to say to the media, ‘I feel really good.’ You want to give off that impression, even when, deep down, you’re like, ‘Ugh, I’m not feeling great.’ That brings its own feelings, because you don’t want to lie about how you’re doing, and the pressure of all that with people watching you and having expectations, and not knowing if you’re going to be the old version of yourself. It’s a difficult part of it to handle, along with the setbacks.
“You wish you could pitch in the backyard with nobody watching. But that’s not the nature of this thing. You have to go out and face it head-on, and I think he’s strong enough to do that.”
Henderson has counseled Woodruff throughout his comeback about how his own shoulder comebacks unfolded. Likewise, pitching coach Chris Hook, who goes back to the Brewers’ Minor League system with Woodruff, has provided support.
They both made the case, as did Murphy, that little weight should be assigned to Woodruff’s velocity in his last outing. The fastball started in the 88-89 mph range in his first inning before eclipsing 90 mph in the second prior to the abrupt exit. That’s down from what Woodruff flashed in previous outings and his 95.8 mph average fastball in 2023.
“He was at the end of [his rehab assignment] and he was ready, mentally, to be challenged,” Hook said. “They were swinging at every pitch. I think it was more like, ‘I have to get this over with.’”
“I think you're wishful thinking if you think he’s going to go blow it out in a Minor League rehab start and hit 95-97 [mph],” Murphy said. “I think when we see him here, there will be a lot of emotion early, so there won’t be big velo numbers. He will be worried about getting hitters out. Then, once it settles in, I think you’ll see him resume 95-97.”
When he gets that opportunity is to be determined.
“You know, he’s been through a lot,” Hook said. “He wants to get to the finish line and it’s like something keeps tripping him. But he’s been through downs before, and he’ll get through this one.”