Brandon Woodruff suffers new anterior shoulder capsule injury

ST. LOUIS – There’s still a lot to be determined definitively about Brandon Woodruff’s right shoulder.

But what’s known so far doesn’t look good.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced Wednesday, July 8, that imaging performed on the 33-year-old showed a new injury to his anterior shoulder capsule. Woodruff and the Brewers are now awaiting a second opinion from Keith Meister, the surgeon who initially repaired Woodruff’s shoulder capsule in October 2023 and has been providing ongoing guidance in the ensuing years.

Woodruff made his first six starts this season before leaving the sixth April 30 after 1⅓ inning with what was described as a “dead arm” sensation. Woodruff had a cyst drained in his shoulder and then spent the next seven weeks building back up to his return, a dynamite six-inning, one-hit, 10-strikeout win in a shutout of the Cincinnati Reds on June 22.

Woodruff’s next start was nearly as effective, although the Brewers lost to the Chicago Cubs, then he had to be removed 3⅔ innings and 61 pitches into his last outing at Arizona on July 4 after the velocity on his pitches dropped precipitously.

He was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation and now awaits the next steps.

“It’s hard, but he’s trying to be strong,” said manager Pat Murphy when asked how Woodruff has processed the latest setback. “He’s trying to look for the positive in all of it. He was so good when he was pitching. He makes the whole room relax when they’ve got Woody (on the mound).

“You might think it’s (Jacob Misiorowski) because Miz is as good as there it. But it’s really Woody. When Woody takes the mound, that’s when guys go, ‘Whew.'”

In his nine starts this season Woodruff has compiled a 2-2 record, 2.98 ERA and WHIP of 0.84 with 47 strikeouts in 45 ⅓ innings while accounting for 1.2 bWAR.

He’s playing this season on a one-year, $22.025 million deal.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brandon Woodruff suffers new anterior shoulder capsule injury