PHOENIX – On a day when the Brewers celebrated their newly announced 2026 All-Stars, major concerns popped up with one of their other All-Star caliber pitchers.
Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff left Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the fourth inning after throwing 61 pitches, and he was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL on Sunday with right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Drew Rom was recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.
The Fourth of July nod marked Woodruff's third start since returning from surgery to address a cyst in his shoulder joint, and he said he felt the same type of discomfort in his shoulder steadily progressing on Saturday, beginning in the second inning.
Woodruff was an NL All-Star with the Brewers in both 2019 and 2021.
“It gets frustrating having to go through this stuff, but I'm in a good spot mentally with it,” Woodruff said. “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.'”
He had previously pulled back from a planned return on May 27, and ultimately came back on June 22.
Woodruff had not allowed a run in starts on June 22 and June 28, but left Saturday’s outing in Arizona having allowed three earned runs on two hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. He struck out six and issued one walk.
His velocity dropped significantly throughout Saturday’s game. His changeup fell from 82.9 mph in the first inning to 76.6 mph in the fourth, while his fastball dropped from 92.5 mph to 86.6. Manager Pat Murphy said the decision was made to pull him after he grimaced following a strikeout of Adrian Del Castillo, which also happened to be his third consecutive strikeout in the game.
“It's really unfortunate. He's a huge part of our organization, a huge part of our team this year and was a huge part of the team last year,” Murphy said. “He just has an unbelievable presence and does whatever he can to help people. And he's a great pitcher.”
Woodruff has a history of right shoulder injuries and underwent surgery in October 2023. He missed the entire 2024 season and half of 2025 while recovering.
“It took six weeks for him to come back, and then he throws two starts, and then this,” Murphy said Saturday night. “So we’ve got to get a better opinion on where we are right now. I think we'll get that and move forward.”
Woodruff has not started more than 12 games in a season since 2022, and the next time he’ll appear in a game is a huge question mark as the All-Star break approaches.
“It's one of those things where you hoped that it would hold on until you get to the end of the year, and then you reassess and kind of make some adjustments,” Woodruff said. “But it kind of just popped up on me again here.
“I'll come in tomorrow, probably talk to the doctor, get [orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith] Meister involved, and then go from there. We'll just take the next steps as they come, so I don't really have anything forecasted past that.”