MILWAUKEE — Brandon Woodruff is staying with the Brewers after accepting the club’s $22.025 million, one-year qualifying offer on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old right-hander elected free agency last month by declining his half of a $20 million mutual option for 2026 and taking a $10 million buyout instead. That was something of a gamble in itself, considering he has been limited to 12 starts over the past two seasons, missing all of 2024 and the first half of ‘25 while recovering from right shoulder surgery, then going down again in September with a strained lat muscle behind the same shoulder.
The Brewers countered by extending Woodruff a qualifying offer, which, if he had declined, would have attached Draft-related penalties to any club signing Woodruff in free agency, while netting the Brewers an extra premium pick in the event he signed elsewhere. Brewers officials considered it a toss-up whether he would accept, but considered it a win for the club either way.
If he declined, the Brewers would have netted a valuable Draft pick. If he accepted, Woodruff would return to lead a young rotation featuring developing arms Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser and Logan Henderson along with the veteran Freddy Peralta.
Woodruff accepted, and will be the first pitcher in Brewers history to earn north of $20 million for a single season. Also accepting qualifying offers were Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga, Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres and Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham. The nine other players who were extended offers declined.
Drafted by the Brewers in the 11th round in 2014 out of Mississippi State, Woodruff is 53-28 with a 3.10 ERA in parts of eight seasons with the Brewers beginning with his Major League debut in 2017. He’s twice made the National League All-Star team, including in 2021, when he had a 2.56 ERA and set career highs for starts (30), innings (179 1/3) and strikeouts (211).
But that was his only season to date of 30-plus starts, raising the issue potential suitors would have had to mull this winter: health. Woodruff injured his right shoulder down the stretch in 2023 and underwent major surgery that October, sidelining him for all of 2024 and the first three months of ‘25 as he rehabbed. He returned July 6 and didn’t have the old zip on his fastball but was nevertheless terrific in 12 Brewers starts, going 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA before going down again in the final week of September with a right lat injury that sidelined him for Milwaukee’s run to the NLCS.
His reconstructed shoulder checked out, however, and Woodruff expects to be full-go for Spring Training and what he hopes is a healthy 2026 season. He will turn 33 on Feb. 10.
