Brandon Woodruff’s return for Brewers delayed due to tendinitis

CLEVELAND — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff won’t return to the majors quite as early as expected.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy announced before Monday night’s game at Cleveland that Woodruff is dealing with tendinitis in his right ankle.

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The issue had bothered the two-time All-Star right-hander during a rehabilitation appearance Sunday with Triple-A Nashville, causing the Brewers to delay Woodruff’s long-awaited return from a shoulder injury.

Woodruff threw 39 pitches in 2⅓ innings against Norfolk before coming out because of the injury. He gave up one run and two hits, and struck out three.

The 32-year old Woodruff last pitched in a big league game on Sept. 23, 2023. The Brewers announced just before the start of their 2023 NL wild-card series with Arizona that Woodruff wouldn’t be available because of a shoulder problem. He underwent surgery that October and has been working his way back since.

Woodruff can’t pitch for a Brewers minor league affiliate for at least seven days. Murphy said the revised plan is for Woodruff to test the ankle for a couple of minor league starts.

“He tried to pitch on it and it didn’t go well in terms of how he felt,” Murphy said. “Our pitching guys and him, they all got together with the front office and Woody made the decision: ‘I’m not going to come back yet.'”

Woodruff’s ankle issue represents the latest setback for a Brewers pitching staff that also has Aaron Civale (left hamstring), Nestor Cortes (left elbow), DL Hall (left lat), Aaron Ashby (right oblique) and Robert Gasser (left elbow) on the injured list.