MILWAUKEE -- Two months ago, this scenario was impossible. Brandon Woodruff was scheduled for season-ending surgery in August, and he would miss the postseason for the fourth straight year. It was devastating for the organization’s longest-tenured player, who’d already been battling for years to sustain a comeback from shoulder surgery all the way back in 2023.
And then something surprising happened.
He started to heal. He started to throw. He pitched off the mound. He pitched off the mound against hitters. A longshot comeback bid that required Milwaukee to make it all the way to the World Series for the first time in 44 years, saw the Brewers do just that.
And now, Woodruff gets to be part of it.
He’s in.
The Brewers set their 26-man World Series roster before Game 1 on Friday morning by making only one change, adding Woodruff in place of right-hander Chad Patrick in a 13-pitcher, 13-position player breakdown. It was the same breakdown in both the NLDS against the Padres and the NLCS against the Dodgers, though two of the pitchers -- left-hander Kyle Harrison and Patrick -- never got to pitch, since the Brewers won both series in four games.
A World Series against the American League-best Rays could be different, so including Woodruff comes with some risk. The Brewers spent recent days conferring with Major League Baseball about what would happen should Woodruff make the roster but then get injured. Typically, a team can replace an injured player. But because Woodruff’s shoulder injury is known, there were questions about whether MLB would approve such a move. As of Thursday afternoon, the club’s understanding was that the league would not.
So, president of baseball operations Matt Arnold and Woodruff met for a frank discussion. What Arnold heard from the 33-year-old right-hander would go a long way to determine the club’s course.
In the end, Woodruff was a go. After nine seasons with the Brewers -- 151 games in the regular season and eight more over four different postseasons -- he’ll get a chance to pitch in the World Series.
“This is a guy that's one of the most successful, dominant big-game pitchers I've ever been around,” Arnold said Thursday while acknowledging the risks. “A lot of unknowns there, but obviously, the good version of that guy is somebody you'd love to have on your roster.”
Here is the Brewers' World Series roster:
Catchers (2): William Contreras, Gary Sánchez
Infielders (6): Jake Bauers, David Hamilton, Joey Ortiz, Cooper Pratt, Brice Turang, Andrew Vaughn
Outfielders (5): Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Luis Lara, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich