The Brewers have built the best record in baseball on the back of a pitching staff that has given them very little reason to worry. Milwaukee sits with the second-best ERA in the league at 3.47, and its rotation has been just as sharp, posting a 3.46 ERA that ranks third among teams. That kind of run is pushing the Brewers toward a fourth straight division title, or at the very least an eighth playoff trip in nine seasons.
Jacob Misiorowski’s rise has been a huge part of that surge, but he has not carried the staff alone. The rest of the rotation has been steady, even if it has lacked consistency at times, and that lack of depth showed up at the deadline. No other Brewers pitcher has reached 100 innings besides the hard-throwing Misiorowski, so Milwaukee made the rotation a priority by adding Dustin May, while also bringing in relievers JoJo Romero and Antonio Senzatela.
Still, the biggest question hanging over the staff may be Brandon Woodruff. MLB.com’s Theo DeRosa, Manny Randhawa and Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru called the 33-year-old the club’s "biggest impending" free agent, and his future looks complicated after another major setback.
"Woodruff announced in mid-July that he would need a second surgery on his right shoulder, which knocked the right-hander out for the rest of 2026 and potentially beyond," DeRosa, Randhawa and Sepe-Chepuru wrote on Sunday. "Woodruff said he isn’t ready to call it a career, but the two-time All-Star, a pending free agent, might not be back with the Brewers in 2027.
After a delayed start to the season, Woodruff had a 2.98 ERA in nine starts in 2026, striking out 47 in 45 1/3 innings. Depending on the length of his latest recovery process, he could be back in time to help a club next season."
That line from MLB.com captures the tension perfectly. Woodruff has spent his entire nine-year career in Milwaukee and still showed he can pitch when healthy, putting up a 2.98 ERA in those nine starts.
But availability has become the issue, not effectiveness. He has not completed a full season since 2022.
The Brewers brought him back this year on a $22 million qualifying offer, and that makes the next move even trickier. Given the shoulder surgery and the uncertainty around his recovery, it is difficult to picture a team committing significant money to him for more than a short term.
At the same time, Milwaukee does have options. Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison and Logan Henderson are part of a young pitching group that also includes a few prospects nearing the majors. That gives the Brewers a path forward if Woodruff departs, though they could also look at a cheaper short-term deal to keep him around as a veteran presence while the younger arms continue to develop.
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