On Wednesday night, the Brewers made Brandon Woodruff’s re-signing official. The agreement is for two years, with a mutual option for the 2026 campaign. According to reports, a backloaded arrangement guarantees the McKinnis Sports client $17.5MM. He will receive a salary of $2.5 million for the next season and a meager $5 million in 2025. The majority of the funds are focused on a $10 million buyout of the $20 million mutual option. Woodruff is granted all non-trade rights.
Within hours of the transaction announcement, Milwaukee placed the righty on the 60-day disabled list. Gary Sanchez was able to secure a spot on the 40-man roster as a result, having also signed a deal on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Woodruff has played for the Brewers his whole career, but at one point it looked as though their partnership would come to an end. Three of the Brewers’ most important players were set to earn eight-figure arbitration salary in 2024 until they became free agents not so long ago. Among them were Woodruff, shortstop Willy Adames, and fellow righty Corbin Burnes. It was assumed that at least one of those players would be traded in order to relieve wage constraints and replenish future talent, given the way the club operates.
However, Woodruff struggled with shoulder problems all of 2023 and ended up needing surgery in October, which ended up jeopardizing his season in 2024. Right-hander Matt Swartz of MLBTR forecasted the righty’s contract at $11.6MM, which is a significant sum for a pitcher who might not throw this season, particularly for a lower-budget team like the Brewers. They apparently looked at a few trade scenarios, but in the end, they just sent Woodruff to free agency by not tendered him.
That allowed any team to sign him; at one point, the Mets had expressed interest. Woodruff is well known to their new head of baseball operations, David Stearns, who joined the Brewers the year the righty was chosen. Ultimately, though, Woodruff will be going back to Milwaukee to finish out his Brewer career.
