The bad news is already here for the Milwaukee Brewers at the start of the offseason. On Friday, it was reported that top pitcher Brandon Woodruff will likely miss the entire 2024 season after having surgery on his right shoulder, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com

‘News from the Brewers: RHP Brandon Woodruff underwent surgery today to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. He is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season, according to the club.'

That's a crushing blow for the Brewers, who will have to endure the season without their star pitcher. Woodruff pitched in just 11 games this season but was effective in those outings, finishing the season with a 5-1 record and a 2.28 ERA, so this is a massive loss for the Brewers in 2024. After coming on strong at the end of the year, Woodruff suffered an injury right before the playoffs, forcing him to miss the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Woodruff's been with the Brewers big league club since 2017 and was outstanding in 2022, finishing with a 13-4 record and a 3.05 ERA in 27 outings.

The Brewers won the National League Central with a 92-70 record but lost both games to the Diamondbacks in an unfortunate turn of events, although since then the Diamondbacks went on to sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers and go to the NLCS.

Still, the loss of Woodruff, potentially for the entire season, is going to be a huge hurdle for Milwaukee and might force them to explore adding more pitching depth this offseason.