The Milwaukee Brewers celebrated in the visiting locker room at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Many of the players who were celebrating contributed in some capacity during the NLCS. Brandon Woodruff, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, did not. Make no mistake, though, Woodruff has played a role in this World Series run, even if his on-field contributions have been limited to the regular season.
The 33-year-old made just nine starts during the '26 campaign, turning in a strong 2.98 ERA. He is still one of the veteran leaders on the team. In fact, Woodruff has pitched for Milwaukee since 2017. Despite not pitching in the postseason yet, it was no surprise to see Woodruff partying with his teammates after the NLCS-clinching victory.
Will Woodruff be able to return for the World Series, however? The veteran hurler was asked that question during the postgame celebration by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“It's gonna be hard to keep me off that roster,” Woodruff told Hogg. “I'm gonna do everything I can, I'm in a good spot. It means a lot to me… We will have those conversations in the next few days, it's gonna be pretty big for me. I need to face some live hitters, and now that we've got some time here, it's good.”
Woodruff hasn't pitched in a while. He doesn't care about that element of the situation.
Article Continues Below“I've always believed in myself. It doesn't matter if I've thrown one pitch in two months or if I've had ten rehab outings, I don't care. I feel like I can go out there and do it, and I hope I get that opportunity.”
Updates on Brandon Woodruff's injury status will continue to be monitored and provided as they are made available.