WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Milwaukee Brewers have placed right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation in advance of their series opener against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Friday, May 1.
Right-hander Easton McGee has been recalled from Class AAA Nashville in the corresponding move.
Woodruff was removed in the second inning of Thursday’s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks after experiencing badly diminished velocity on his pitches.
“Just some shoulder inflammation,” Woodruff said Friday. “Went out yesterday and honestly I felt good; nothing alarmed me. I went out for my start and the ball just wasn’t coming out. A little inflammation in there from the image. But after talking to our staff and Dr. [Keith] Meister, my surgeon, it should be a pretty minimum stint here, which is good news.
“Nothing structurally wrong from the surgery or anything like that. All good on that front. Just got to get it taken care of and knock it out and I should be throwing here pretty soon.”
Woodruff said it became apparent as he was going through his pregame routine that something was off.
“Kind of just came up, to be honest,” Woodruff said. “I’d been doing really good, my body feels great. Just one of those things where it just kind of popped up. Ball wasn’t coming out. I wasn’t sore; there was no pain. I try not to look at the radar gun but I knew the ball wasn’t coming out in the bullpen. But I wasn’t having pain, so if I’m not having pain I’m going to go pitch.
“But I had that conversation after the first inning. Typically I’m a slow starter when it comes to velo, and I didn’t know if it was just going to jump up in the second [inning]. But I wasn’t having pain so I let our staff know, ‘Look, I’m going to go back out and if it doesn’t get any better then obviously there’s no sense in continuing.
“It’s best-case scenario. Just proceed here, get some treatment, let this calm down a little bit, get back to throwing and hopefully be back pretty soon.”
Woodruff underwent imaging and was consulting with doctors while the Brewers were in the midst of their 13-1 victory and that a plan for his eventual return to the mound is still a work in progress.
“We’re playing around with some timelines right now. Nothing concrete,” he said. “Probably will nail that down today. But I’m still going to proceed normally with workouts and treatment and stuff like that. We just have to get this to calm down a little bit and then I’ll get back to throwing here pretty soon.”
If there’s one thing Woodruff has learned since initially suffering shoulder issues in 2023, it’s patience.
“It’s not [surprising],” Woodruff said when asked if he expected more bumps along the way this season. “As a competitor, I want to be out there for 30-plus [starts]. But coming off 12 starts and 65 innings last year, like, what is the reality of my situation in that sense? As long as I’m feeling good I’m going to keep going, and then you just try to listen to your body as much as you can.
“Obviously, my body told me here yesterday that I need to take a little time here to let this inflammation calm down. Is it a stretch [to expect] 30-plus starts? Maybe, but there’s nothing structurally going on so it’s all good in that sense and things like this, you’ve just got to manage pretty much.
“I know we’ve had these conversations a lot over the last couple years and it may feel like it’s just me putting the mask on, but truly, it’s not. I got great news from the MRI and it’s just proceed here and take the next steps whatever that is.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers put Brandon Woodruff on injured list with shoulder inflammation
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
