Brewers' Brandon Woodruff remains upbeat as he deals with one more obstacle in his comeback

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff is putting the best possible spin on the latest setback in his attempted comeback.

Woodruff was on the verge of pitching in the majors for the first time since September 2023 when he was struck in the throwing elbow by a line drive with a 108-mph exit velocity during a rehabilitation appearance Tuesday for Triple-A Nashville. That left the two-time All-Star with a bruised elbow that will delay his return again.

''That's life, you know?'' Woodruff said Saturday before the Brewers' 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. "I could have been walking down the street and broke my ankle walking off the sidewalk or something. It's about putting everything in perspective. I was lucky that I got away with what I got away with.''

Woodruff, who missed the entire 2024 season with a shoulder injury, isn't putting a timeline on when he could return from this latest issue. He noted that he's waiting for the swelling to go down before he begins throwing again.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy mentioned the possibility that Woodruff could start throwing again early next week and could have a bullpen session by at least June 17. The next step after that likely would involve throwing live batting practice and one more rehabilitation assignment.

''The one thing we don't want, for himself and for us both, we don't want this to turn into where we're rushing him back in any way, shape or form, right?'' Murphy said.

Woodruff, 32, is grateful that testing revealed only had a bruise. He realizes it could have been a much more serious injury.

''It hit me in a spot where it didn't cause any damage,'' Woodruff said ''I didn't know that in the moment. My biggest fear was that it was going to be broken and likely cost me the rest of the season.''

Woodruff underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder after the 2023 season, an issue that caused him to miss the Brewers' 2023 NL Wild Card Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hoped to return early this season.

It hasn't worked out that way.

Woodruff has twice sustained an unrelated injury while pitching in what he believed would be his final rehabilitation appearance before pitching in the majors again. He dealt with tendinitis in his right ankle last month. Now he faces the elbow issue.

''It sucked in the moment because I'd gotten to essentially the finish line the last two times and something has popped up,'' Woodruff said. ''Stay positive. I look at it like my luck will turn around eventually, but man, that's baseball. Things can happen like that. Take it for what it is and just show up the next day and keep going.''

Woodruff is 3-1 with a 2.11 ERA in nine minor league appearances, but a guy whose fastball velocity has exceeded 95 mph throughout his major league career hasn't approached that level in his most recent outings.

He also has 34 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings in the minors this year. Woodruff has 788 strikeouts over 680 1/3 innings during his 130 career appearances with Milwaukee.

''The last couple outings, what we saw, obviously, he's holding back a little bit,'' Murphy said. ''He had an ankle situation the last couple outings. We saw the stuff isn't ‘old Woody' and I mean, yet. So, we'll deal with that when he comes here, but his stuff will tick up once he gets here.''

Woodruff acknowledges his velocity has gone down a bit as he works his way back, but he believes that will change once he's off the injured list and back in a Brewers uniform.

''Once you get here, it's a different animal,'' Woodruff said. ''The adrenaline's pumping a lot more, so I'm expecting a little bit of a jump there.''

Woodruff isn't the only notable player the Brewers are hoping to get back. Murphy said Saturday that outfielders Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins could begin playing games later this month, first in Arizona and later in Nashville, with the hope that they could get activated before the All-Star break.

Perkins still hasn't played this season after fracturing his right shin in batting practice early in spring training. Mitchell is dealing with a left oblique injury and last played on April 25.

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