Brandon Woodruff goes into detail on his shoulder injury, hopeful for future with Brewers

With surgery to repair the capsule in his right shoulder now in the rear-view mirror, Brandon Woodruff hit the road on Tuesday morning.

Where was Woodruff going? From his home in Mississippi to Birmingham, Ala., where he was to begin the long and tedious process of rehabilitation.

"Got my sling up on the center console," he said as he made the two-hour trek eastward.

Woodruff, 30, endured a tumultuous 2023 season that saw him sidelined for four months with a subscapular strain in his right shoulder.

But when he did pitch, Woodruff was borderline dominant as he finished 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and WHIP of 0.82 in 11 starts.

And with apologies to Corbin Burnes and his eight no-hit innings against the New York Yankees, Woodruff's complete-game shutout against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 11 might have been the best singular pitching performance for the Brewers.

But his career is on hold now due to the surgery, and the possibility remains that Woodruff has already thrown his final pitch for the Brewers, the team that took him out of Mississippi State in the 11th round of the 2014 draft.

Woodruff talked about the surgery, his expectations for 2024, whether he thinks he'll be back in Milwaukee and what he thinks will happen with manager Craig Counsell with the Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak.

How did the surgery go?

“(Dr. Keith Meister) came in and told me everything went pretty much perfect. He got in there and the tear wasn't as big as initially he thought on the MRI so that was great. So, everything went according to plan and he fixed it up and it was a good surgery. It was just two stitches (internally). If you look at a million different MRIs, you look at what would be a common tear in your capsule, I basically had that exact thing. The way that Dr. Meister put it was, if you had tight pants and you bend over and you rip your pants right on the seam, that's exactly what it looks like. I looked at the pictures that they gave me after the surgery afterwards and that's exactly what it looks like. It's just a little tear. In some cases it can get bad, where you have huge tears in your capsule and where you can see through the capsule to the muscle. Those are pretty extreme, but mine was nothing like that. So, pretty much a cut-and-dried tear, and it wasn't as big as initially thought. It was all good news in terms of the surgery.”

Did they tell you if the injury was acute, or if it was caused by general wear and tear?

“I asked those questions — 'Was there anything I could have done on my end that would have prevented it?' I basically did everything I could. If you have a subscap injury like I had the first time, the subscab and the capsule go hand-in-hand. Basically, if you hurt one, you hurt the other, to some degree. Dr. Meister said when you hurt yourself the first time there was some stretching or there could have been a small tear in your capsule and basically there's two ways you can go about it: It's either let it heal naturally, or have surgery. And so essentially what I did the first time when I rehabbed the first part of the year, was naturally let my shoulder heal. And it healed up fine. Everything was great. I made 10 starts and my velocity was back. Everything was good. But basically it got to a point where it just kind of gave out on me. It was just one of those things that, as a thrower, I deal with shoulder stuff like some people deal with elbow stuff all the time. And it just never gets out. You can kind of control it, and I controlled mine for a while, but it's one of those things that just got to the point where it just tore and there was nothing I could do about it.”

There's never a good time to be injured, but with free agency looming in 2024 isn't the timing for this scenario about as bad as it gets?

“I can look at it a few different ways. Anytime you have surgery sucks, right? But you know? I look at it like, what if I had this surgery say, when I was a rookie in 2017 or '18 or even '19. If I had this surgery it could have changed the course of my career. And I may not be sitting where I'm at right now, if this happens earlier. So, you can look at it 1,000 different ways. I realize this situation I'm in, being a free agent coming up and it just is what it is. Like, I literally can't help it — and I'm OK with that. Once I got through answering all the questions and got my shoulder fixed, it was, 'I'm going to rehab and I'm going to be just fine if not better when I come back.' So, you know, whatever that is, I'll be the same guy. So, I just have to take my time and rehab. Yeah, it sucks it happened right before I'm about to be a free agent. But at the end of the day, I look at it like I got a brand-new shoulder, I've just got to rehab it right and I'll be just fine. Because I've got a lot of years left in my mind to play.”

We've been told you'll miss most, if not all, of the 2024 season while recovering. Is there a scenario where you might be able to return late in the year?

“From multiple doctors I've talked to — not just Dr. Meister; I've had multiple opinions — there is a roadmap to being able to throw at some point. Now, whether it's the right thing to do, that's to be determined. I'm just over two weeks out, but there is a roadmap where I could do that. It's just, I have to get further along in this process. I have to see how everything's going and then I can make that determination. When I'm looking at it, I'm not rushing it. But yes, there is a roadmap to be able to potentially do that next year.”

The Brewers have until Nov. 17 to decide how to proceed with regard to you. Have you or your agent been in contact with the team?

“No, I have not. I have not had any conversations yet. The World Series isn't even over yet. Teams right now are trying to gather as much information as possible. They're trying to figure out their offseason plans. I know the front office and Mark (Attanasio), I'm sure (the surgery) altered a lot of the plans, to be honest, when I got hurt had surgery. You've got to respect them. They're doing their work right now, they're having conversations, and as soon as the World Series ends, there's going to be that week before (the deadline) where conversation will pick up. But as of right now, we haven't talked. I'm sure they're just waiting for the season to get over and they're still trying to gather all their information and trying to make their plans.”

Are you open to potentially agreeing to something like a two-year deal that would be amenable to both sides?

“Let's make this clear — I love Milwaukee and the organization, all the people in the organization from top to bottom. Look, I would love to stay in Milwaukee. I realize I'm in a unique situation. I would love for it to work out. But I also realize I'm in a weird position, right? Because I'm due another raise and it's a lot of money and teams aren't going to necessarily want to pay one year not to pitch, right? So the obvious thing is you either work something out longer term, or I could potentially be a free agent. That's kind of plain, cut-and-dried. That's where I'm at. But my hope is that I will be in Milwaukee — and not just for a couple years, but for a long, long period of time. I've made that clear. But I also realize that this is a business and I realize what type of pitcher I am and who I could be. We'll see. It's so early. But my hope is that I'll still be in Milwaukee.”

Have you been following the Craig Counsell saga? How do you think it will shake out?

“Obviously, that's not a deciding factor for me or anything. But for Counsell, if you want to put it in terms of a player, Couns is like, one of one. He's the first-rounder, the No. 1 pick. He's gotten to the point where he's earned the right to be able to go out and see what's out there. He's the guy. But let's let's be real. He grew up in Milwaukee. He's been a he's been a Milwaukee lifer. This has been a dream job for him, to manage the Brewers. And he's been really, really good. Obviously, he would love to stay but he has to do what's right for his position. And for that part in the game, going out and see what else is out there. He has to do his due diligence in that part. And, you get it. We're all in a business here and that's part of it. I know he would obviously love to stay in Milwaukee; that's his home. That's just my personal take on it.”

More: Craig Counsell's contract is set to expire. It would be a mistake for Brewers to let him walk.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brandon Woodruff's goal is to return to the Brewers in 2024 and beyond