Being able to sign the Milwaukee Brewers‘ $22 million qualifying offer in restricted free agency is, from Brandon Woodruff’s perspective, a major boon. How much could he get on the open market following his first somewhat healthy season in two years – a 12-start season bit by the injury bug in the end, once again? Apparently, not enough to turn down the Brewers’ offer.
But it’s also a win for the team. One, Woodruff is popular with fans and the Brewers’ longest tenured player. When he starts, he’ll put people in the seats.
Two, he has veteran experience, leadership, and assuming decent health, still a darn good arm. Woodruff posted a 3.20 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and strikeout rate of 11.6 per nine last season. Those qualities will stabilize a starting rotation that will rely on at least one and probably more like two, three, or more young pitchers over the course of the season.
Woodruff is an important father figure in locker room of fledglings
Jacob Misiorowski is guaranteed a spot in the mix. Ideally, he, Woodruff, Quinn Priester, and Freddy Peralta would be four of the Brewers’ five starters come opening day. They could sign a veteran in free agency, like last year when they acquired Jose Quintana. Or, they could turn to another youngster for that final spot.
The Brewers have several to choose from. Chad Patrick had a very strong rookie campaign overall, doing whatever the team asked him to, in any kind of role.
Logan Henderson sparkled in a handful of starts before being derailed by injury. Robert Gasser should be in the fold. Tobias Myers is still an option unless they are going to commit to making him a full-time reliever.
More than likely, the Brewers will call on more than one of them for significant work during the season, in case of injuries, trades, or just to spread out the workload and keep everyone fresh.
The team has reportedly rolled back its Peralta trade talks, but he is probably still available for a home-run type offer. If another general manager calls up at the deadline, it could happen. In that case, the Brewers would have another spot to fill.
In any case, Misiorowski and the others could use an even-keeled role model like Woodruff. The Brewers could use his stuff as they deal with the ups and downs of developing pitchers. En route to a gutsy playoff performance, Misiorowski had his fair share of those last season.
Regardless of whether this is Woodruff’s last year in Milwaukee, having him back – on the highest single-season pitcher salary in team history – is the best thing for both sides. The best thing for both sides is also that Woodruff finds a way to stay at least semi-healthy through the 162 game grind. Having him do that would provide a major anchor in the rotation as the young arms grow up around him.
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