Brewers' Woodruff Faces Second Shoulder Surgery
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- Brandon Woodruff announced before Saturday's game against Miami that he'll undergo a second anterior capsule surgery on his right shoulder, the same procedure he had after the 2023 season
- Woodruff's prior surgery (October 2023) required roughly 20 months of recovery and cost him all of 2024; he returned mid-2025 to go 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts before a lat strain kept him out of the playoffs
- Woodruff was pulled from a July 4 start against Arizona after a velocity drop, placed on the 15-day IL that day and shifted to the 60-day IL on July 12
- Dr. Keith Meister, who performed Woodruff's 2023 repair, removed a cyst from Woodruff's shoulder in early May, sidelining him for nearly two months before the latest setback
- Kyle Harrison was placed on the 15-day IL on July 11 with forearm tightness and is awaiting MRI results, compounding Milwaukee's pitching attrition
- The Brewers acquired Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon from Houston on Wednesday for outfield prospect Jadyn Fielder; McCullers was reinstated from the IL Friday and optioned reliever Jared Koenig to Triple-A Nashville
Why it matters: Woodruff's likely season-ending surgery hits a rotation already thinned by Harrison's forearm issue, just as the Brewers entered Saturday with the majors' second-best ERA (3.48), trailing only the Yankees. Manager Pat Murphy called it 'a gut punch,' and Milwaukee's Houston deadline acquisitions — McCullers and Gordon — now carry a heavier load.
