Brewers Lose Brandon Woodruff for 2026 Season With Surgery Coming

The Milwaukee Brewers star won't be back on the mound for a while.

Jun 28, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) high fives teammates in the dugout during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers aren't going to have Brandon Woodruff on the mound for the rest of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, at the very least.

Woodruff is dealing with a shoulder injury and he hasn't pitched in a game since July 4. It was revealed after further imaging that Woodruff is dealing with another anterior shoulder capsule injury.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy gave a brief update earlier in the week, but noted that he was going to wait for Woodruff to make an announcement himself before commenting too much. On Saturday, Woodruff announced that he needs to undergo season-ending surgery to repair his shoulder, but he said that it is not a "funeral," and he plans to play again, as transcribed by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

The Brewers Won't See Brandon Woodruff For A While

Jul 4, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The announcement seemed like I was having a funeral or like I was going to announce retirement or something, and that’s not it at all,” Woodruff said. “I’ve just got to have surgery. It’s unfortunate. For me, personally, I’ve got to go ahead and attack this rehab with the goal in mind of pitching again.”

The best news that came from Woodruff on Saturday is the fact that he plans to play again. At this point, it's far too early to speculate when a return could be. Hopefully, he's able to return as fast as possible.

His 2023 season was cut short due to shoulder surgery and then he missed the entire 2024 season and returned in 2025. In 2025, he made 12 starts in the big leagues for the Brewers and had a 3.20 ERA in 64 2/3 innings pitched. In 2026, he made nine starts and logged a 2.98 ERA before landing on the Injured List. When healthy, Woodruff is still Woodruff. When he takes the mound, the Brewers typically have a chance to win that day. Unfortunately, he's just had some bad luck.

For the 2026 season, the Brewers need to think about adding another hurler. The Brewers already added a hurler in Lance McCullers Jr., but he's expected to kick off his stint with the organization in the bullpen. It wouldn't be surprising to see that change pretty quickly.

The 2026 trade deadline is coming up on Aug. 3. Milwaukee has a real chance to make a run this season, but now it knows that it's not getting one of its starters back. The Brewers need to go out and add.