The Milwaukee Brewers have made a decision regarding Brandon Woodruff.
On Friday, Jon Morosi reported that the Brewers were shopping Woodruff in trade talks. They apparently failed to find a taker, because the Brewers did not tender Woodruff a contract, which will make him a free agent.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 18, 2023
Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery in October. He is expected to miss at least a good portion of the 2024 season.
The Brewers are cutting Woodruff for financial reasons. The pitcher was set to earn around $11 million in arbitration despite his known injury. Milwaukee did not want to have such a significant portion of their payroll committed to a pitcher who was going to miss at least a lot of the season.
Now that he will be a free agent, it might make sense for Woodruff to sign a 2-year deal with a team where he gets paid a small amount while rehabbing in 2024, and the team has an option on him for 2025 in hopes that he returns to his top form.
Woodruff was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021 for Milwaukee. He went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and a sparkling 0.82 WHIP over 11 starts in 2023 before being sidelined by his shoulder injury. He is 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA over his career.
