Brandon Woodruff will visit Dr. Keith Meister to get a second opinion on his injured shoulder, reports team reporter Sophia Minnaert. A preliminary examination revealed a new injury to Woodruff’s anterior shoulder capsule.
Milwaukee placed the two-time All-Star on the injured list over the weekend. Woodruff’s speed slowed Saturday due to shoulder discomfort. Captain Pat Murphy initially suggested the team believed it was the same type of injury that cost Woodruff a few months earlier in the season. He had a cyst and some swelling in his shoulder, which he had surgically repaired in 2023.
It is not yet clear whether further surgery will be considered. The team will certainly provide more details after a re-examination with Meister, who did the work three years ago. Either way, it’s a disappointing first update that seems to point to another extended absence. It’s very frustrating that Woodruff is always a very good striker when his shoulder is up. He has a 2.98 earned run average and a 27% strikeout rate over nine starts despite a low fastball velocity of 91.9 mph.
Milwaukee operates with a four-man rotation Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat again Shane Drohan. They will open Logan Henderson off the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow’s series finale against the Cardinals, his first appearance since May 22. That should come before the All-Star Break. Robert Gasser is their only healthy depth starter left on voluntary assignment in Triple-A. Chad Patrick can back up as a starter if needed, while Garrett Stallings is on extended relief after spending a lot of time in the Triple-A rotation.
It’s too early to know if Woodruff’s injury will affect Milwaukee’s playoff plans. Misiorowski and Harrison will make a great 1-2 punch in the playoff series. Henderson, Sproat, Drohan and Gasser have major league track records but are all talented in their own rights. The latter three have hit well of late.
The Brewers won’t need to add a starter even if Woodruff faces an extended absence. They have an extremely talented farm system and also ran away with the NL Central, though, so the opportunity is there if they want to take advantage of a trade lead. Milwaukee is still seven games behind the Cubs in this division. They are a game back of the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. More importantly, they are 5.5 games ahead of the NL East-leading Braves for the #2 seed and a nice first-round bye.
