The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing back Brandon Woodruff on a two-year deal, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The financials of the deal have not been reported yet.
Woodruff, 31, is coming off of a season in which he threw 67 innings while posting a 2.28 ERA with 74 punchouts. The righty saw his season come to an early end, suffering a shoulder injury late in the 2023 regular season. He underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder shortly after the playoffs began and is expected to miss the entirety of the 2024 season.
Woodruff has spent his entire career with Milwaukee, posting a lifetime 3.10 ERA to go along with a career K/9 of 10.4. The two-time All-Star has been a machine for the Brewers since he was slotted as a full-time starter in 2019. This will likely be the first season that the Brewers have played where he hasn't thrown at least 10 games since then.
The move is interesting for Milwaukee, considering that it is not likely to have Woodruffs' services until 2025. After trading away former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes last month, the Brewers will still be without two of their top three arms from the team that steamrolled their way to a division title in 2023. Here is a brief look at the players making up Milwaukee's projected 2024 starting rotation and how they all performed last season.
Freddy Peralta (12-10, 3.86 ERA)
Wade Miley (9-4, 3.14 ERA)
Colin Rea (6-6, 4.55 ERA)
Joe Ross (0-0, 5.14 ERA in the MILB)
Robert Gasser (9-1, 3.79 in AAA)
Keeping the top three guys in this rotation will be a key factor in how successful this rotation can be. As far as the back end goes, it's important to note neither Gasser nor Ross threw an inning in the majors last season. However, Gasser showed a lot of promise in AAA last season, striking out 166 batters in 135 and 1/3 innings of work. Ross has not pitched in the majors since 2021.
As the free agent pool continues to dwindle and we inch ever closer to the start of a new season, it appears that this is the group that the Brewers are comfortable with going forward.
Image via Getty Images
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