Minor League Baseball

Longtime Milwaukee Brewers' Ace Returns to Action in Solid MiLB Rehab Start

Brandon Woodruff was back on the mound for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday. Because of a shoulder injury, he hasn't appeared in a regular season game since late in 2023.
Jami Leabow|
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws in the bullpen during spring training workouts on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Ariz.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws in the bullpen during spring training workouts on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Ariz. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Milwaukee Brewers

It was a sight to behold for the Milwaukee organization and their fans – Brandon Woodruff, back in a regular-season game for the first time in 19 months.

Woodruff took the mound for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on Saturday against the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals affiliate). And while he didn’t figure in the decision in the Sounds’ 6-2 win, he kept the team in the game.

The veteran right-hander pitched 3.2 innings and struck out five in his first start in a non-spring training game since September 2023. He gave up two runs on four walks and two strikeouts.

A decent first step on what has been a long comeback.

Woodruff, 31, had surgery on the anterior capsule of his throwing shoulder at the end of 2023. He has a 46-26 career record with a 3.10 ERA. He's a two-time All-Star who finished fifth in the National League Cy Young voting in 2021.

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported the Saturday night appearance would be the first in what is expected to be a 30-day rehab stint with Nashville but that he’ll still be under the watchful eye of the Brewers.

Per McCalvy:

“The plan calls for Woodruff to rejoin the Major League team after each outing to undergo his usual treatment and throw a between-starts bullpen session, then head out on the road again. If history is any guide for a pitcher coming back from a surgery as significant as Woodruff’s, the Brewers will use most or all of the 30 allotted days, putting his potential return to the Major League rotation somewhere in the middle of May.”

That will be welcome news for the Brewers, who have faced multiple injuries to its pitching staff in the early going of the season. Already, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers and Nestor Cortes have required trips to the injured list.

Despite the ailments and an 0-4 start, the Brewers enter their game Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix with an 8-7 record.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

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