Subscribe
Follow Us
The Milwaukee Brewers are scuffling to start the 2025 season. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday to avoid a sweep and improve their record to 20-21. Pitching injuries have been a massive problem for the Brewers, especially concerning ace Brandon Woodruff. Milwaukee brass spoke after his most recent AAA start, which they hope is his last before joining the big club.
“We could have put him in the rotation sooner, but he felt like he needed another outing, lighter [workload],” Brewers GM Matt Arnold told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. “He just doesn’t want to have to go back on the IL. So that was the big thing.”
“The other thing that I think was a factor there is him being able to make his start back at home. Just having the emotion tied to that rather than have him come back in Cleveland – I think he wants to do that in front of the home crowd,” Arnold continued. Next weekend, the Brewers play the Twins in Milwaukee.
During the AAA Nashville Sounds game against the Norfolk Tides on Sunday, Woodruff threw 2.1 innings. He allowed two hits, one run, no walks, and picking up three strikeouts. He has been out since September of 2023 with a shoulder injury. His velocity was lower than previous rehab outings, which Brewers' manager Pat Murphy addressed Sunday.
“I didn’t hear anything, but I saw the line and I saw the number of pitches,” Murphy said, per McCalvy. “I didn’t hear much, but when it’s in the pitcher’s mind that this is going to be a lower-volume day, that can affect you, too.”
The Brewers' pitching staff has been crushed by injuries and poor performances this year. Nestor Cortes has made two starts, Aaron Civale was brutal in one start, and Tobias Myers just went to AAA. Woodruff's return will be massive for the Brewers, who are already four games out of first in the NL Central.
