MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Woodruff has made the Milwaukee Brewers’ World Series roster without having pitched in a game over the last 3½ months.
Woodruff took the place of Chad Patrick on Milwaukee's 13-man pitching staff as the Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays submitted their World Series rosters Friday before playing Game 1 in Milwaukee.
This is the latest step in a remarkable comeback for Woodruff, a two-time All-Star who had expected to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery this past summer. Woodruff said he got the news from manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold while driving home Thursday.
“I didn’t want this to be a charity pick,” Woodruff said Friday. “That was important to me. ... I wanted to be on the roster because I felt like I could help win.”
Woodruff's potential role hasn't been specified. Although he has started in all but 15 of his 151 career regular-season appearances, four of his eight playoff outings have come in relief.
Woodruff, 33, went on the injured list in early May after a reduction in his velocity prompted him to leave a game in the second inning. He returned in late June, dealt with another velocity dip during a July 4 start at Arizona and hasn’t pitched since.
He expected to undergo anterior capsule surgery, a procedure similar to one he had three years ago. Woodruff then learned the surgery wouldn’t be necessary, and he has been trying to work his way back ever since in hopes of pitching again in October.
Woodruff said he felt good after throwing 23 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday.
“We know who the kid is,” Murphy said. "We know that it’s not going to be too much for him. This is what this kid’s all about. He’s been around here for 10 years or whatever, and we’ve understood it. We feel like there’s a window where he can help us.
"That was the whole decision. This isn’t a, ‘Wow, we love Woody, he’s great for the organization.’ Because he already said to us, ‘I don’t want to be a sympathy pick. I want to be a pick because I can help the team.’ Then you go through all the things and say, ‘Can he help us?’ The answer is ‘Yes, he can definitely help us.’"
Even so, this move represents a major gamble.
A club may request permission from the commissioner to replace a player on the active roster for the remainder of a series if he sustains an “acute, non-chronic injury or ailment (not recurring soreness over time).” That means the Brewers likely wouldn't be able to fill Woodruff’s spot if they include him on the roster and he has a recurrence of the shoulder issue.
“I expressed how I felt about things and kind of where I was, and I was very truthful and very open,” Woodruff said. “It came down to I want one thing, whether I was on the roster or not, and that’s to win. So whatever was decided, I was good with. Obviously I love to compete and I want to pitch, but I understood the other side of it. Yeah, excited. I’m ready to go. My message was help in any capacity Murph needed me to get outs. I didn’t really care what that looked like.”
Woodruff’s 3.10 career ERA is the best in Brewers history for anyone who has pitched at least 500 innings for the team. Even while dealing with his drops in velocity this season, Woodruff went 2-2 with a 2.98 ERA in nine starts.
He has a 1-3 record and 3.18 ERA in eight career playoff appearances.
Although the Brewers have reached the postseason eight times in the last nine seasons, Woodruff's last playoff appearance came way back in 2021 because of a variety of injuries. He underwent shoulder surgery in the fall of 2023 and didn’t pitch again until July 2025. A lat strain prevented him from pitching in last year’s playoffs.
Patrick had been on Milwaukee's roster for their NL Division Series victory over the San Diego Padres and their NL Championship Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he hadn't pitched in either series. Patrick went 9-4 with a 3.40 ERA during the regular season.
Tampa Bay altered its pitching roster by including left-hander Garrett Cleavinger rather than right-hander Brody Hopkins. The Rays have the same roster they used for their AL Division Series victory over the New York Yankees.
Hopkins had taken Cleavinger's spot for Tampa Bay's AL Championship Series matchup with the Cleveland Guardians. Although Cleavinger was on the ALDS roster, he didn't actually pitch in that series.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Milwaukee Brewers' Brandon Woodruff speaks during a World Series baseball media day, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Milwaukee, ahead of Game 1 between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
