The Milwaukee Brewers placed pitcher Brandon Woodruff on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, the team announced on Friday.
That outcome seemed imminent after Woodruff left Thursday’s start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning. Facing only six batters in the game, Woodruff showed diminished velocity with his fastball, averaging 85.4 mph (and topping out at 86.9 mph) after averaging 92.5 mph during his first five starts of the season.
Following the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters that Woodruff said that his arm was “dead” and couldn’t throw with higher velocity. Yet he didn’t feel like he was injured.
“I think we just have to be really cautious here,” Murphy said. “We’re going to get him checked out. We’re going to get him tested.”
Talking to reporters on Friday, Woodruff confirmed that an MRI revealed right shoulder inflammation but didn’t seem concerned that he would be out for very long.
“I went out [Thursday] and honestly, I felt good,” he said. “Nothing alarmed me and 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 with our staff and Dr. [Keith] Meister — I had a conversation with him, my surgeon — it should be a pretty minimum stint here, which is good news,” he added.
Woodruff, 33, has experience with more serious injuries, undergoing surgery on his right shoulder (performed by Meister, a renowned orthopedic surgeon and the head physician for the Texas Rangers) in 2023 that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.
Last year, Woodruff went on the IL with a right lat strain that resulted in him being shut down in mid-September. He finished with 64 2/3 innings pitched in 12 starts, compiling a 3.20 ERA, 7-2 record and 83 strikeouts.
The Brewers go into Friday’s matchup with the Washington Nationals with a 16-14 record and fourth in the National League Central division, 3.5 games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds.
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