Woodruff hopes to resume throwing this weekend after minor right shoulder procedure

ST. LOUIS -- Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff underwent a minor procedure on Monday to address the inflammation in his surgically-repaired right shoulder, and could be back throwing as soon as this weekend, according to manager Pat Murphy.

Woodruff’s fastball was down by about 7 mph as he logged only four outs in his last start against the D-backs on April 30. He complained of a “dead arm” sensation, underwent an MRI scan that revealed only inflammation and was placed on the 15-day injured list, then traveled to Dallas for a hands-on evaluation with Dr. Keith Meister, the surgeon who repaired Woodruff’s shoulder in 2023. Meister drained some fluid that was causing the inflammation.

The plan calls for Woodruff to resume throwing on Saturday, Murphy said. According to Murphy, the Brewers believe Woodruff will need only to throw a series of bullpen sessions before he is ready to rejoin the rotation.

“We don’t think it’ll be too awfully long,” Murphy said.

The same goes for designated hitter Christian Yelich, who resumed taking batting practice on the field during this road trip and is on track to hit live pitching and ramp-up his baserunning sometime next week.

Yelich said he hopes to see enough pitching that way to avoid a Minor League rehab assignment before he returns to active duty.

"Everything's going pretty good,” Yelich said. “I’m just checking the boxes of the rehab schedule, doing what they want me to do.”