WASHINGTON -- In a not-entirely-surprising move ahead of their series opener vs. the Nationals, the Brewers placed Brandon Woodruff on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation on Friday.
The club recalled right-hander Easton McGee from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.
Woodruff had been forced to exit his start the day prior, having recorded only four outs while experiencing a notable drop in velocity. Woodruff was emphatic on Thursday when he left the game that nothing structurally felt wrong, but he also acknowledged that something wasn’t right.
“Went out yesterday and, honestly, I felt good,” Woodruff said Friday. “Nothing alarmed me. Went out for my start and just, the ball wasn’t coming out. So, little inflammation in there, [per] the image.”
Woodruff, who flirted with triple digits prior to his 2023 right shoulder surgery, had averaged a respectable 92.5 mph on four-seam fastballs in his first five starts of 2026. On Thursday, his 10 four-seamers averaged 85.4 mph and maxed out at 86.9 mph.
That’s a notable decrease, so the Brewers and manager Pat Murphy sent the 33-year-old for an MRI scan fairly quickly after he exited the start. Even before the results came back, a stint on the injured list was already “in the conversation,” per Murphy. The results confirmed that it was the best-case scenario: inflammation, but nothing structural.
“After talking with our staff and Dr. [Keith] Meister -- had a conversation with him, my surgeon -- and just should be a pretty minimal stint here, which is good news,” Woodruff said. “And all the news we got back was really good.
“Just a little bit of inflammation popped up on me, so just got to get it taken care of and knock it out, and I should be throwing here pretty soon. ... We’re playing around with some timelines right now, nothing concrete -- we’ll probably nail that in today -- but I’m still going to proceed normally with workouts and treatment and stuff like that, just have to get this to calm down a little bit and then I’ll get back to throwing here pretty soon.”
“The MRI actually showed that he’s stronger than ever,” Murphy said. “So we’re excited about that. We’ll let this [inflammation] come down, begin throwing again. Again, if anybody would have predicted Woody [to have] made six starts already, I don’t think anybody would have believed it. So we’re on track.”
Woodruff’s injury is a hit to the rotation, and it’s also another stressor on an already stretched-thin bullpen. Three relievers are on the IL, including offseason acquisition Angel Zerpa -- who would have been handy to have available in high-leverage situations as the Crew navigates being down a starter.
Zerpa is unlikely to be an option for a while, though. He was placed on the 15-day IL on Wednesday with left forearm tightness, but has since undergone testing (and received a second opinion, per Murphy) and there should be some determination of next steps “soon.”
“I don’t think he’ll be back any time soon,” Murphy said. “Surgery is an option. ... We’ll know very, very soon.”
Woodruff is grateful he avoided any more serious injury -- and is unsurprised at this latest setback.
“As a competitor, I want to be out there for 30-plus [starts],” Woodruff said. “But the reality of my situation is, coming off what, 12 starts and 65 innings last year? Like, what is the reality of my situation in that sense? And as long as I’m feeling good, I’m going to keep going. And then you just try to listen to your body as much as you can. And this is me -- obviously my body told me yesterday that I need to take a little time here just to let this inflammation calm down.
“I didn’t suspect anything in terms of anything major going on, but just with all that I’ve been through the past couple years, it’s more peace of mind. ... And once we got the results back, it didn’t surprise me.”