Brewers Cap Off 1st Half With Astros Trade, Brandon Woodruff 60-Day IL

The Milwaukee Brewers had a busy final day of the first half of the season on Sunday.

Milwaukee concluded the first half of the season with a matchup against Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Initially, it was supposed to be Skenes vs. Brewers superstar Jacob Misiorowski. Unfortunately, the Brewers' star was unable to take the hill. Brewers manager Pat Murphy noted that the flamethrower "didn't recover well" after his last start and therefore the Brewers simply wanted to give him extra time without throwing, but there isn't concern at this moment beyond Sunday's expected start.

Milwaukee turned to Robert Gasser on Sunday and the contest didn't go the Brewers' way. Milwaukee ended the first half of the season with a 14-5 loss to drop its record to 59-37. Ultimately, it wasn't the Brewers' series in general and Pittsburgh came away with a three-game sweep.

The Brewers Had A Busy Day

Jul 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers infielder Braden Shewmake (13) warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before the game, the Brewers were very busy. Milwaukee announced that it acquired infielder Braden Shewmake from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash. On top of the move to acquire Shewmake, the Brewers designated Greg Jones for assignment, transferred Brandon Woodruff to the 60-Day Injured List, and optioned Coleman Crow down to Triple-A.

Today's transactions pic.twitter.com/jVc5oPmGz4
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 12, 2026

Shewmake is a three-year big league veteran and he wasted no time getting into the action for Milwaukee. He made his debut with the club in the series finale against the Pirates at third base and went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. He hasn't seen a ton of action in the big leagues this season. He has appeared in 31 total games now with the Brewers and the Astros and is slashing .250/.265/.413 with three homers and nine RBIs.

The addition of Shewmake naturally got the fanbase talking on Sunday, especially because he got right into the action. Plus, any time you make a trade, people are going to talk about it. Arguably, it wasn't the biggest story of the day, though. Moving Woodruff to the 60-Day Injured List was.

Woodruff hasn't pitched in a game since July 4 and it was revealed that he suffered a new anterior shoulder capsule injury. It was shared that he's seeking a second opinion, but this is nerve-wracking. His 2023 season was cut short due to an anterior shoulder capsule injury that required surgery and knocked him out for the entire 2024 season.

At this moment, the Brewers haven't announced the results from Woodruff's second opinion. But it's now known that he won't touch the mound for two months, at the very least. Fortunately, the Brewers have a few days off now with the All-Star break here. The Brewers need it, especially after the busy day on Sunday.

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