Matt Arnold Hints Brewers' Trade for 'Interesting Arm' Could Pay Dividends

How does Jake Woodford fit this staff?

Matt Arnold, Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager, speaks with reporters Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers always have another move up their sleeve, especially if it looks as if they'll be short on pitching.

On Tuesday, just two days before the Brewers were set to begin the regular season against the Chicago White Sox, president of baseball operations Matt Arnold swung a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for right-hander Jake Woodford, who had a strong 7 1/3-inning sample out of the bullpen in spring training.

Woodford is out of options, which effectively guarantees that he'll be on the major league roster by Friday. Arnold must have thought the Brewers needed him, and the PBO touched on why that was in his post-trade comments.

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Arnold talks up righty Woodford after trade with Rays

Sep 10, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jake Woodford (41) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

After dealing minor-league right-hander K.C. Hunt and cash considerations to Tampa Bay to get Woodford, Arnold talked about why he and his team chose to bring in Woodford, who was a four-year member of the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s pitched in a number of different roles and been a veteran in the league for a while,” Arnold said, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “We have some history with him. He’s an interesting arm that can play a valuable role in a number of different spots in our bullpen, or potentially even at the front of games.”

Woodford appeared in 22 major league games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, and the results weren't pretty -- a 6.44 ERA, 45 hits allowed, and only 23 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings.

The right-hander also had an upward mobility clause that allowed him to go to another team if he wasn't going to make the Rays' opening day roster, which prompted Tampa Bay to trade him rather than eventually losing him for nothing.

Typically, when the Brewers like a pitcher, it means the rest of the league should be nervous about what they see in his profile. And though the secret formula might be tougher to spot with the naked eye than usual when it comes to Woodford's pitch data, the guess is that the Brewers see it when we don't.