Talk about a shot in the arm.
The Milwaukee Brewers have decided to roster Brandon Woodruff for the World Series, bumping Chad Patrick off the roster.
Woodruff is a two-time All-Star, but has not pitched since July 4. He was believed to need season-ending shoulder surgery after dealing with shoulder issues again this year, but miraculously started healing and was cleared to start a throwing progression. He worked hard to give himself a chance and finally faced live hitters on Tuesday.
The Brewers said he looked good, but they had to weigh the risks of rostering him and him getting hurt again. He would be ineligible to be replaced on the roster if he suffers a shoulder injury again. He is on the roster now, but it's unclear what his role will be.
Woodruff had a 2.98 ERA across nine starts this year, including a couple of outings where the velocity was being impacted by the injury. He is not going to be a traditional starter, but it's unclear if he can even go multiple innings.
One possible role for Woodruff would be simply as a right-handed reliever to give the Brewers one inning. Antonio Senzatela is in a similar role, but Woodruff might be better.
Obviously, the Brewers have more information about where his stuff is and what the quality of his pitches looks like. However, it's not a stretch to say that he may already be a better option than Senzatela in that role.
Depending on how the Brewers view his pitch count and whether they think he can give them multiple up-downs, he could be used in a multi-inning role as Patrick would have been.
Woodruff has been a starter for almost his entire career, so perhaps he's ready to give the team multiple innings out of the gate. If that's the case, he could be valuable in a game where the starter does not go deep or the Brewers need length in extra innings.
Perhaps the most fascinating possibility for Woodruff is as an opener in Game 4. The Brewers are going to start Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser in Games 1,2 and 3. That last game will be a bullpen game, and so far, Dustin May has been the bulk guy in those games, even though Shane Drohan started Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If Woodruff can give the Brewers multiple innings, he could be an option to start Game 4, go anywhere between one and three innings, and then hand the ball to the rest of the bullpen.
It's also possible that he does not pitch at all. Patrick had not, and Kyle Harrison has not either. If he's simply there as insurance, there are far worse options to have waiting in the bullpen.