PHOENIX -- Brandon Woodruff sat in the Brewers’ clubhouse inside of Chase Field on Sunday morning in good spirits, but he did so as a member of the injured list, having been placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Woodruff becomes the fourth member of the team’s starting staff currently on the IL, joining Quinn Priester, Coleman Crow and Logan Henderson. Southpaw reliever Drew Rom was recalled from Triple-A Nashville for his second stint with the big league club this year.
Manager Pat Murphy said Sunday that “it wasn’t totally a surprise” that something cropped up again with Woodruff’s surgically repaired right shoulder, which cost him the entirety of the 2024 season and the first half of ‘25. The 33-year-old also spent nearly two months on the IL earlier this year after undergoing a procedure to address a cyst in his shoulder joint.
When healthy, Woodruff has been an integral cog of the club’s rotation, posting a 2.98 ERA and 0.84 WHIP across nine starts. He’s been able to get Major League hitters out even without his best stuff, averaging south of 88 mph with his four-seamer (more than 4 mph below his yearly average) over the final two innings Saturday before departing.
“It gets frustrating having to go through this stuff, but I'm in a good spot mentally with it,” Woodruff said postgame. “I know what's before me. I know what I'm dealing with, so if I can avoid some things, it just becomes, 'Get back on the field and pitch and help them win.'”
Saturday was also notable due to Henderson, the club’s No. 7 prospect (MLB No. 99) who is currently sidelined due to a lower back strain, making his second rehab start for Triple-A Nashville. He threw 64 pitches and logged four strikeouts across 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball, with his fastball topping out at 94.1 mph and largely sitting right in the 91-93 range that -- when combined with its induced vertical break and approach angle -- has stymied big league batters to the tune of a .156 average-against this season.
With Nashville playing a doubleheader, Crow also got to make his first rehab outing since being placed on the injured list June 12 due to a right forearm flexor strain. He was even better than Henderson, pumping three scoreless frames with three strikeouts. The velocity on all four of his offerings was up and he threw first-pitch strikes to nine of the 12 batters he faced.
While Crow tossed just 53 pitches and will need a longer buildup before a Major League return is on the table, Murphy said Sunday morning that Henderson came out of the start feeling healthy. But with five games in four days -- including a doubleheader Tuesday -- on the docket in St. Louis, the Brewers are likely to have to pivot.
In the short-term, it’s possible that left-hander Robert Gasser is returned to the big league roster after being optioned on Tuesday. The southpaw found a groove as a regular member of the Milwaukee rotation in June, allowing three runs or fewer in four of his five starts. He has particularly excelled at limiting loud contact in 2026, posting a 94th percentile hard-hit rate (29.6 percent).
For now, the Brewers have re-added Rom to a pitching staff that entered the day leading the National League with a 3.36 ERA as a unit. The 26-year-old has enjoyed a stellar year at Triple-A, on pace to set a new career high with 13.1 K/9. Working with his low-90s four-seamer and a wipeout sweeper to neutralize lefty hitters, Rom has been on quite the strikeout run, collecting multiple K’s in nine consecutive outings between Milwaukee and Nashville dating back to May 29.
Having an all-hands-on-deck approach is particularly vital for the Brewers as they endure a stretch that features 18 games in 17 days leading into the All-Star break. They entered the day with a six-game lead on the Cubs in the National League Central race, but their aspirations extend deep into the year.
“Win tonight,” said Murphy about handling his pitching staff. “When you start thinking too much of what's gonna happen, you're gonna shock yourself and then regret that you made decisions based on what might be to save guys.”