Brewers make tough decision to non-tender Brandon Woodruff, one of the club's best pitchers

The news came as no surprise.

But it was tough to digest nonetheless.

Unable to find a trade partner, the Milwaukee Brewers instead had their hand forced on Friday and non-tendered right-hander Brandon Woodruff, one of the best pitchers and most engaging individuals in franchise history.

Brandon Woodruff recently underwent shoulder surgery that may force him to miss entire 2024 season

The decision came as a result of the shoulder surgery Woodruff underwent on Oct. 13, a procedure that could sideline the 30-year-old for the entirety of the 2024 season.

Woodruff would have been due a salary north of $12 million and become a free agent heading into 2025 – an untenable scenario for a Brewers team that might well be heading toward a rebuild.

Now, Woodruff becomes a free agent.

"That was a tough, tough phone call," said a dejected Matt Arnold, the Brewers' general manager, in the wake of the team's announcement. "It was emotional. He was awesome for us in so many ways. I still think there's a chance he could be part of our team in the future.

"But certainly, a tough day any time you have to deliver news like that to somebody that means so much to your franchise."

The Brewers did tender contracts to nine players – shortstop Willy Adames, first baseman-outfielder Jake Bauers (acquired in a trade earlier Friday), outfielder Tyrone Taylor, right-handers Corbin Burnes, Adrian Houser, Joel Payamps, Devin Williams and Bryse Wilson and left-hander Hoby Milner.

In addition to Woodruff, Milwaukee also non-tendered first baseman Rowdy Tellez and right-hander J.C. Mejía.

Non-tender of Brandon Woodruff ends pitcher's nearly 10-year run with the Brewers organization

But the big news is the departure of Woodruff, who was one of the longest-tenured players in the organization having been drafted out of Mississippi State in the 11th round in 2014.

He went on to become one of the Brewers' best starting pitchers, twice being named an all-star while also authoring one of the team's biggest moments when he homered off Clayton Kershaw to help spark a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2018 National League Championship Series.

Woodruff's best two seasons came in 2021 and 2022 before he was bitten by the injury bug and forced to miss most of this past season – first with a subscapular strain that cost him to just two starts until August and then with an anterior capsule tear that forced him out of his scheduled Game 2 start in the NL wild-card playoff series.

In 11 starts in 2023, Woodruff went 5-1 with a 2.28 earned run average, WHIP of 0.82 and 74 strikeouts over 67 innings.

His complete-game shutout of the Miami Marlins on Sept. 11 at American Family Field was one of the Brewers' two best pitching performances of the season along with the eight no-hit innings spun by Corbin Burnes against the New York Yankees one day earlier.

Woodruff's final appearance for the Brewers came in Miami on Sept. 23, when he exited after five ineffective innings in which his fastball velocity had dipped noticeably.

He went 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA and WHIP of 1.05 in 130 career appearances (115 starts) and struck out 788 in 680 ⅓ innings with the Brewers.

Brandon Woodruff said this offseason: 'I would love to stay in Milwaukee'

Barring any future reunions, it's a tough way to split up for both player and team.

"Let's make this clear – I love Milwaukee and the organization, all the people in the organization from top to bottom," Woodruff told the Journal Sentinel on Oct. 31. "Look, I would love to stay in Milwaukee. I realize I'm in a unique situation. I would love for it to work out. But I also realize I'm in a weird position. Because I'm due another raise and it's a lot of money and teams aren't going to necessarily want to pay one year not to pitch, right?

"So, the obvious thing is you either work something out longer term, or I could potentially be a free agent. That's kind of plain, cut-and-dried. That's where I'm at. But my hope is that I will be in Milwaukee – and not just for a couple years, but for a long, long period of time."

How does Arnold see Milwaukee's starting rotation shaping up without Woodruff and Wade Miley, who declined his half of a mutual option?

"I still think we have a pretty solid foundation," he said. "I mean, we didn't get a ton of innings out of Woodruff last year, honestly. We do have a number of a number of guys who I think can step up, including Aaron Ashby coming back, Adrian Houser, Colin Rea, Freddy Peralta and obviously, Corbin Burnes.

"We still have the door open for Brandon Woodruff, still the door open for Wade Miley and others. And then guys like Robert Gasser and Carlos Rodríguez, who was our minor-league pitcher of the year, and others that are coming through our pipeline. So, I feel like we'll be in a good spot there.

"We still have innings to fill, certainly, but I think we have a number of guys – whether it's internal or external – that will step up."

Neither the departures of Tellez nor Mejía – who was twice suspended for PED use while with the Brewers – were surprising.

"That was a tough one as well," Arnold said of non-tendering Tellez. "He's had some incredible moments here, certainly, and was another guy that meant a lot to our fans and to our team. We would certainly keep the door open for Rowdy in the future, as well."

With a little over two weeks to go until baseball's winter meetings, now the focus will turn to whether the Brewers hang onto or ultimately decide to deal the likes of Adames, Burnes and Williams.

Milwaukee's 40-man roster currently stands at 35.