Ageing is hard, especially in professional sports. The reality that the game is passing you by, or that your body isn't holding up like it used to, hits athletes harder than people in almost any profession. That harsh reality seems to be settling in for Milwaukee Brewers fans, but it's hard to tell if the team or veteran starter Brandon Woodruff himself understands the magnitude of the situation at hand.
Longtime Brewers reporter Sophia Minnaert confirmed that Woodruff, who was already working his way back from other ailments, suffered yet another setback on his road back to a reliable role. The 33-year-old appears to have a new anterior shoulder capsule injury, which will set him back from a return to the Brewers once again.
It's a tough pill to swallow because Woodruff was just starting to look like his old self again. He played two games in June with zero earned runs allowed and 16 combined strikeouts in those efforts. His 2.98 ERA tells one side of the story, but he's only been available for 45 innings so far this year.
It speaks to a larger trend with Woodruff over the last several years — he cannot stay on the field. Woodruff hasn't surpassed 12 starts since the 2022 season, many of which have directly impacted his shoulder and, in turn, his throwing arm. So sadly, the Brewers might need to start thinking about how they can make up for his continued absences.
Brandon Woodruff can't stay healthy, so the Brewers desperately need a backup plan.
This isn't a testament to Woodruff's talent or commitment but to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding him. He's on the tail end of what historically should be his athletic prime, with enough indicators to suggest that he's not going to be one of those starters who play deep into their 30s or early 40s.
Thankfully, the Brewers have established one of the best young pitching rotations in baseball to supplement their lack of veteran contributions in the starting rotation. But is that going to be enough for them to make the Playoff run they're aspiring to achieve? That part is a bit harder to believe.
That is one large part of why the team has been tossed around in trade speculation for established starting pitchers like Tarik Skubal. There is no guarantee that Woodruff will be available for the team when they need him in the postseason, which would expose them to the same fate they faced in the 2025 postseason — a demoralizing loss at the hands of the big- spender Los Angeles Dodgers.
Woodruff's story is not yet defined, but there is some writing on the wall that he won't have the fairytale ending that Brewers fans dreamed of for him. So at this rate, Milwaukee should be prepared for the worst rather than be undermanned when they need him most.
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