The Milwaukee Brewers are closing in on Thursday’s Opening Day matchup versus the Chicago White Sox, and it seems a key pitcher will be ready to go sooner than later.

Right-hander Brandon Woodruff is slated to take the mound for the Brewers in their fifth game of the season when Milwaukee hosts the Tampa Bay Rays on March 31. This decision came after there was a chance Woodruff would begin the season on the injured list. However, he is healthy enough to play.

According to Woodruff, there was a lot of discussion leading up to the decision.

“Yeah, I mean, there was.. there's a lot to play around with,” Woodruff told the media. “I mean, reality was at the end, in the spring, technically we're still going through that but the days were counting, you know what I mean? I didn't have as much time as other guys did just based off my schedule coming in.”

Woodruff did confirm, however, that he would pitch against Tampa Bay.

“I felt like personally I was in a good spot,” he said. “I was recovering. You know, my pitch count is probably obviously a little less than some of the guys coming out of camp, but I felt like I was recovering.

“I felt like, you know, the stuff was there and coming along," he said. "And I didn't feel like I necessarily wanted to go pitch in minor league games. Pretty much is the way I felt about it.”

After missing all of the 2024 season and a significant portion of 2025 due to recovering from right shoulder surgery, Woodruff made his return to the rotation last July and put up encouraging numbers. However, a lat strain forced him off the field and caused him to miss a third-straight postseason appearance by the Brewers.

Woodruff will continue to ramp his way up toward starting on the final day of March, and he is happy to have a solidified plan in place.

“Yeah, you know, it was kind of, a lot of that was kind of floated around as we got to the last couple weeks from the season,” Woodruff said. “But yeah, it feels good. I mean, once I threw the first outing, I was able to get on a consistent schedule, which was good. 

“But kind of filling out what we wanted to do at the end of spring," he said. "But yeah, like I said, I felt like I was in a good spot.”

Last season, Woodruff made 12 starts and went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 64 ⅔ innings of work. Coming into this season, he did not want to be associated with the lat strain that sidelined him last September.

“I came into camp in a good spot,” Woodruff said. “And that was another thing, I'm not hurt. So, I didn't want that to be a kind of story coming out of spring, of having that lat attached to me, cause I feel good. 

“And so, that was important to me, but yeah, I'm in a good spot," Woodruff continued. "And I feel like it was a good time for me to just come into the season fresh and try to get a full year."

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