Brandon Woodruff took another meaningful step forward in his rehab, and that’s exactly the kind of update Brewers fans have been waiting for.
Woodruff, who had been throwing recently, was set to have his shoulder examined on Friday to see whether he was ready to move on to throwing off a mound. By Sunday, Brewers reporter David Gasper said on X that doctors had cleared him for that next phase.
"It sounds like Brandon Woodruff got approval from doctors for throwing off the mound, per Pat Murphy," Gasper wrote. "Murphy stressed it remains an extreme outside chance he can return for the postseason, but Woodruff's throwing progression is continuing.
"'It's still going to be a while,' Murphy said. 'We still haven't thrown a bullpen.
I'm not losing hope. You know why not?
But to think that you cannot throw for two months and then just get on the mound in the World Series or something. Kind of an outside shot, but why not shoot for it?'"
That’s a big checkpoint for the Brewers right-hander, even if a return this season still feels like a long shot.
The reality is Woodruff is not close to getting back in a game yet. If he were to pitch again in 2026, Milwaukee would need to go on a very deep postseason run.
Even so, the fact that he’s still grinding through rehab says plenty about him. At one point, he was ruled out for the season and looked headed toward surgery.
That path changed after further review, and he’s been working back ever since.
The odds of him being ready in 2026 are still slim, but he’s not backing off.
And if the Brewers somehow get all the way to the World Series, there would at least be a chance for a homegrown star to rejoin them. That possibility alone makes this latest update worth watching.
For now, the takeaway is simple: Woodruff is still moving in the right direction. A return this season would be a bonus.
More importantly, the latest progress helps ease the fear that surgery might have put the 2027 season in jeopardy too. Barring a setback, that concern no longer appears to be hanging over him.
The Woodruff watch rolls on in Milwaukee, and the news keeps getting better.
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