Brewers Predicted To Turn Down $32 Million Reunion With Two-Time All-Star

Even if $10 million of that is gone either way?

The Milwaukee Brewers unveil two new scoreboards Mondayat American Family Field in Milwaukee. The Brewers partnered with ANC, a digital signage and visual display company, to enhance existing digital and static stadium signage. The new 8mm LED digital display overlooking center field measures 12,077 square feet. It will be among the largest scoreboards in Major League Baseball, according to the Brewers, and is more than double the size of the old display at 5,940 square feet. The Brewers are | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation could look a lot different next year than it did when it was operating at peak capacity this summer.

All-Star Freddy Peralta will be the subject of trade rumors all winter, but at least the Brewers have him firmly under contract if they choose to hang on. That's not the case anymore with Brandon Woodruff, the club's longest-tenured player, who declined his half of a $20 million mutual option on Monday.

But before Woodruff truly becomes a free agent, the Brewers still have one mechanism to keep him around: the $22.025 million qualifying offer. If he takes it, he's back for one more year, but if he declines it, the Brewers get an extra draft pick at the end of the first round.

That's assuming, however, that the Brewers would even tender Woodruff that $22 million proposal.

Will Brewers extend Woodruff the QO?

Brandon Woodruff throws some pitches before the Tuesday Milwaukee Brewers National League Wild Card playoff series at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. - Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Tuesday, Mike Petriello of MLB.com predicted that because the Brewers already owe Woodruff a $10 million buyout, they won't be amenable to committing another $22 million to Woodruff in the possible event he would accept the deal.

"Woodruff was one of the finest starters in baseball for a half-decade, but shoulder problems and ensuing surgery cost him much of the last three seasons," Petriello wrote. "There’s a complication here, too, which is a $20 million mutual option that comes with a $10 million buyout.

"That means that he can essentially get a $10 million paycheck just for trying free agency, and if Milwaukee does then extend the QO and he takes it, now he’s earning $32 million in 2025, and that just seems unlikely given his recent health history. Prediction: Does not receive an offer."

Woodruff has a 3.10 career ERA in 745 innings for the Brewers -- the lowest in history among all pitchers with at least 500 innings in Milwaukee. But he's only thrown 131 2/3 innings since the start of the 2023 season, and although he should have a relatively normal offseason, the fact that he ended the year injured once again is concerning.

If the Brewers follow Petriello's predicted approach, it seems nearly impossible that Woodruff will return. But until it's official that he's signed to a new team, nothing can be fully assumed.

More MLB: Brewers' Projected Freddy Peralta Trade Package Isn't Enough To Follow Through