Brandon Woodruff Provides Texas Rangers With Unique Free-Agent Option
When it comes to starting pitching, the Texas Rangers are in good shape for 2024 — even if Jacob deGrom misses the whole season.
The Rangers have Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Jon Gray and Dane Dunning under contract for next season. There is also left-hander Cody Bradford, who moved into the bullpen for the postseason.
But look closer. Scherzer is a free agent after 2024. Eovaldi can be, depending on his vesting options. So is Heaney. And Gray will be entering the final year of his deal in 2025.
Brandon Woodruff is 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA in seven seasons with Milwaukee.
So, the Rangers actually have to start planning for the longer term. Fortunately, an unexpected option that fits the Rangers’ current structure presented itself after Friday’s tender deadline.
The Milwaukee Brewers non-tendered pitcher Brandon Woodruff, one of 63 players that were non-tendered and hit free agency. But few of those players have Woodruff’s track record — and question mark.
In seven seasons with Milwaukee, he went 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA. He has 788 career strikeouts and 176 career walks. He struck out 10.4 hitters per nine innings and walked just 2.3 per innings.
His best season was 2022, during which he went 13-4 with a 3.05 ERA. He was an All-Star in the 2019 and 2021 seasons.
In 2021, he finished fifth in Cy Young voting despite a 9-10 record. He had a 2.56 ERA.
The right-hander was part of helping the Brewers reach the playoffs five of the last six years.
The reason Woodruff fits with the Rangers is because there’s a good chance he won’t pitch in 2024, and if he does it will be late in the season.
Woodruff made nine starts in 2023, as he dealt with shoulder issues. When he pitched, he was sharp, with a 2.59 ERA. But the shoulder issue forced the Brewers to shut him down in September.
After the season, he underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder. It’s likely he will miss a good portion of 2024, if not all of it.
Woodruff was entering his final year of salary arbitration, where he could have made $11 million. He will become a free agent after the 2024 season.
The Brewers could have tendered Woodruff. They could have gotten him into a team-friendly extension. They even, reportedly, talked with other teams about trading Woodruff, per MLB.com. But those talks went nowhere.
Now the Rangers can pursue him without discombobulating the plan for 2024 because a long-term deal isn’t necessary. The Rangers could sign him to a two-year, or even three-year deal, with incentives and options that protect both sides and could even give Woodruff access to free agency once he’s healthy.
Plus, by signing him, the Rangers could make him a qualifying offer when he does hit free agency.
It’s not often a starter like Woodruff hits the market unexpected. It would be in the Rangers’ interest to consider the option.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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