Latest On Brandon Woodruff

The biggest roster question for the World Series: will the Brewers carry Brandon Woodruff ? The two-time All-Star said during the NLCS celebration that he wanted to secure a spot on Milwaukee’s pitching staff for the Fall Classic.

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes that Woodruff’s fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range during a 23-pitch live batting practice session this afternoon. It’s the first time he’s thrown to hitters since he suffered the shoulder injury that was initially expected to end his season.

“I know where I’m at. I’ve only faced live hitters once and the World Series starts in three days,” Woodruff told McCalvy after the BP session. “As far as a decision, I haven’t heard anything. I’m sure they are discussing it.” President of baseball operations Matt Arnold indicated no decision has been made, telling McCalvy the team is “still working through our meetings” on the roster.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote that Milwaukee is concerned about the possibility that they may not be able to replace Woodruff if he suffers a setback. The concern is evidently that MLB rules allow players who suffer a non-chronic injury during the postseason to be replaced on the roster. With Woodruff’s shoulder issue being a long-term concern, Rosenthal writes that the Milwaukee front office reached out to MLB for clarification.

Teams are permitted to carry 13 pitchers on a postseason series roster. They can ordinarily replace injured players, though they’d need to replace an injured pitcher with another pitcher. The Brewers carried 13 pitchers on their roster for the NLCS.

None of Kyle Harrison, Chad Patrick or Antonio Senzatela made it into an NLCS game. Senzatela made two low-leverage appearances during the NLDS; neither Patrick nor Harrison got into a game in either series. Harrison is probably the 13th pitcher on the depth chart after a tough second half, though the Brewers might not want to risk losing him as a mop-up option if they’re concerned about Woodruff’s ability to throw multiple innings. The Rays have a left-handed heavy lineup and were far better against righty pitching (.751 OPS) than southpaws (.678 OPS). Harrison is one of six lefties whom Milwaukee carried on the first two rosters.