Brewers Surprisingly Non-Tender Brandon Woodruff, Should the Dodgers Sign Him in Free Agency?
The Milwaukee Brewers have shockingly non-tendered RHP Brandon Woodruff on Friday. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was among those to report the news.
Woodruff had arguably his best year as a pro in 2023, albeit in limited time. Woodruff went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 11 starts, but unfortunately got hurt ahead of the postseason and will now likely miss the 2024 season.
The Brewers are likely heading into full rebuild mode, and clearly couldn’t find a trading partner to take on Woodruff and his around $11 million salary. So, they decided to non-tender him, and he now hits the open market pretty much screaming for the Dodgers to sign him.
The Dodgers love signing injured pitchers on cheaper deals, and Woodruff is sure to take a little less money than he’s worth since he’ll be out for all of 2024. However, come 2025, Woodruff will be entering his age-32 season, and has top-of-the-rotation stuff that would make any team salivate.
Andrew Friedman would love the idea of signing a two-time All-Star starting pitcher with a look ahead to the 2025 season, and he loves taking risks on injured pitchers more than most.
So expect him and the Dodgers to be active in discussions for Woodruff, as he now looks for a new team for the first time in his career.
Sometimes there are players who hit the open market and just scream “Dodger.” Woodruff feels like one of those guys — and maybe the Dodgers will pair him with some Brewer teammates this offseason, too.
Photo Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
The Dodgers don’t need another injured pitcher. If they were to put together a rotation of already injured or rehabbing arms, the Dodgers would have the best rotation in baseball. The disabled list does not win a World Series.