Brandon Woodruff hoping to start throwing next summer

Brandon Woodruff addressed several topics during an interview on "Foul Territory", including his hopes of returning from shoulder surgery before the 2024 season is over.  The possibility certainly exists that Woodruff’s anterior capsule procedure might sideline him for the entire year, but the Brewers right-hander acknowledged that he is far too early in the recovery process to set any timelines.  However, Woodruff said that “from talking with multiple doctors, there is a possibility to be open to me throwing at some point this summer….As an athlete, you have to set goals and [have] something to look forward to.”

Woodruff is under arbitration control for one remaining season and was initially seen as a possible trade candidate this winter given his rising arb price tag.  His shoulder surgery ended any chance of a trade, but it create some chance that the Brewers could non-tender Woodruff altogether.  That said, the Brew Crew might also look to sign Woodruff to some type of lower-cost two-year contract, allowing him time to recover and then hopefully be ready for a full season in 2025.  The two-time All-Star hasn’t yet spoken with the team about any kind of contract or his injury situation in general, but since “the season isn’t over yet,” he figures those conversations will eventually come.  Woodruff’s preference is definitely to stay put, as “I’ve been so lucky to be with one organization and basically one coaching staff my whole career….I fit in so well with that city and this organization that my hope is that I will be a Brewer for a long time.  That’s what I want.”

More from around the NL Central….

• Injuries and inconsistency hampered the Cubs’ bullpen late in the season, contributing to the team’s subsequent fall out of the playoff race in September.  Relief pitching figures to be a target area for Chicago this winter, but Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic don’t believe this season’s outcome will change the front office’s aversion to heavy investments in the bullpen, given how relievers can run so hot or cold from year to year.  Some more experienced arms will be sought out, but with “an emphasis on finding veteran relievers who have had some success in the past — or flashed the potential to put it all together — but haven’t done it consistently or recently enough to command a multiyear contract.”
• The Rangers’ Mike Maddux and the Diamondbacks’ Brent Strom are the opposing pitching coaches for the World Series, and Jeff Jones of the Bellville News-Democrat notes the bittersweet nature of this matchup for the Cardinals, considering that both coaches used to be employed in the St. Louis organization.  Maddux was the team’s pitching coach from 2018-22 before joining the Rangers last winter, and Strom worked for St. Louis from 2007-13, including a stint as the Cards’ minor league pitching coordinator.  Considering that the Cardinals’ pitching faltered in 2023 and they’re now planning to overhaul their rotation this winter, Jones observes that “whatever changes come in the staffing of player and pitching development will likely take the form of attempting to re-capture some of what was already in house and departed.”