MLB Writer Makes Bold Suggestion Involving Brewers' Brandon Woodruff

The Milwaukee Brewers have gone from having too little starting pitching to seemingly having a surplus.

Milwaukee made a solid move this offseason by bringing Nestor Cortes to town in the trade with the New York Yankees that cut ties with All-Star closer Devin Williams. Cortes is a former All-Star who at least should help secure the back-end of the rotation with upside to be even better.

The Brewers also signed former All-Star José Quintana this week who should give the team another big lift. While this is the case, the guy who should improve Milwaukee's staff the most in 2025 is All-Star Brandon Woodruff.

He missed the entire 2024 campaign but has looked good in camp so far and has made progress in his recovery. Woodruff has thrown a few live bullpens and is nearing another milestone and will pitch multiple innings in his next outing barring a setback.

Woodruff hasn't been in Spring Training game action yet and it's unclear if he will be ready for Opening Day, but he at least seems to be trending in the right direction.

With Quintana now in the mix, Athlon Sports' Dave Gasper made a list of three players "at risk" of losing their roster spot. On his list, he floated the idea of placing Woodruff or DL Hall on the 60-day Injured List to open up a roster spot.

"Brandon Woodruff or DL Hall to 60 Day IL," Gasper said. "Another option is putting Brandon Woodruff on the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot for Quintana. This is probably not one the Brewers want to do as that would ensure Woodruff cannot return until around Memorial Day. The hope is probably to get him back sooner than that.

"Woodruff hasn't had a setback, but the Brewers are being cautious in his progression. Maybe they're going to be cautious enough they're expecting it to take until two months into the year for him to be ready to go? If they want to keep all the other pitchers they have, this may be the course they have to go. DL Hall showed up to camp with a strained lat. He's back to starting throwing but he's still expected to miss the first month at least."

This idea makes much more sense for Hall rather than Woodruff. The team has been careful with him so far, but there have been nothing but positive updates about him since Spring Training began. Even if he isn't ready for Opening Day, it doesn't seem like he would be months away, like the 60-day Injured List would mean.

The Brewers seemingly have a surplus of pitching now so a move could make sense to open up a spot, but Woodruff to the 60-day Injured List doesn't seem likely, at least right now.

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