Despite the bullpen’s injury woes, Jake Woodford’s ballooning ERA and negative WAR prove he is a liability that Milwaukee Brewers can no longer afford to carry in close contests.
Back on March 24, the Milwaukee Brewers traded righty K.C. Hunt to the Tampa Bay Rays along with cash consideration for Jake Woodford.
Usually, the Brewers have no problem turning relative no-name pitchers into superstars. Sadly, that hasn't been the case with Woodford.
Every team needs that bottom reliever to eat up innings, but even when Woodford is asked to do so, things continue to go south.
He ended up finding his footing late against the San Francisco Giants, but the Brewers ninth-inning rally proved just how important the four runs Woodford gave up proved to be.
At this point, especially with injuries to DL Hall and Grant Anderson, the last thing the Brewers can do is have a weak spot in the bullpen.
Jake Woodford Has Failed the Brewers
Woodford, 29, isn't a young pitcher the Brewers can demote and help get back on track. He's no stranger to pitching in the big leagues, but he carries a 5.25 career ERA, one that somehow is lower than what his ERA is this season in Milwaukee.
Through 16 games, Woodford is 1-0 but sports a -0.4 WAR. While there's still time to turn things around, this marks the sixth straight season he has a WAR in the negatives.
Overall, Woodford's ERA is 6.94 this season which is up from the 6.44 it was a year ago in Arizona. Seeing as this is the fifth big league team he's played on since 2023, it's clear consistency is an issue and this is a reliever not even Chris Hook can make better.
Pat Murphy Needs Trusty Relivers
Inning eaters are quite common in this Brewers bullpen, but with how many pitching injuries the team has racked up, a guy like Woodford isn't going to be asked to only appear in games that are already out of hand.
It's clear Murphy sees Woodford as someone who pitches in games that are already over, as seen with his appearances in lopsided contests. Going back to April 28, he's pitched in eight games that were decided by three runs or greater. Of those eight games, six were decided by six or more runs.
Sure, Woodford picked up a three-inning save on that aforementioned April 28 contest, but that was a three-inning outing against a Diamondbacks squad that lost by 11 runs. Not every game is going to be one-sided, and Woodford has made it crystal clear he can't be trusted in most situations.
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