Former Cardinals Pitcher Can't Lose in Brewers-Rays World Series

Regardless which team prevails and captures their first World Series crown – the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers or the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays – it’s former St. Louis Cardinals first-round pick Jake Woodford who is already a winner.

Woodford, 29, has been scratching and clawing to stay in the big leagues since leaving the Cardinals since pitching for them from 2020-23. Since then, he has pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and both the Brewers and Rays. That’s where things get particularly interesting for the 39th pick from the 2015 MLB Draft by the Cardinals.

Because Woodford pitched for both the Brewers (23 1/3 innings of work) and his hometown Rays (1 1/3 innings late in the season), he is guaranteed to win a World Series ring and a share of the financial purse. Not too bad of a spot to be in for a pitcher who has a career record of 11-17, an ERA of 5.36 and a WAR of minus-2.1 over seven MLB seasons.

Woodford struggled during his brief stints with the Brewers, Cubs and Rays, posting a 7.81 ERA over 26 1/3 innings pitched in 18 games.

Woodford, who was born in St. Petersburg, Fla. And grew up in nearby Tampa, was signed to a free-agent minimum contract last November. He was then traded by the Rays to the Brewers for Minor Leaguer K.C. Hunt and cash on March 24.

That allowed him to appear in 16 games for the Brewers – finishing 14 of them mostly in mop-up duty before being released on July 4. He signed with the Cubs that same day and pitched in two games – a two-inning outing against the Reds where he surrendered five hits and three runs in a 4-0 loss and scoreless inning against the Dodgers nearly a month later.

He inked a pact with the Rays and rejoined Tampa on Aug. 11. He struggled in his one outing – he allowed three hits, three earned runs and a walk against the Yankees on Sept. 24 – and he was granted free agency on September 30.

The Cardinals had high hopes for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Woodford, who has usually been one of the most athletic players on just about every team he’s ever pitched for.

After spending five years in the Cardinals’ Minor League system, Woodford finally got his promotion to St. Louis, and he made his MLB debut on Aug. 15 during the second game of a doubleheader during the COVID-condensed 2020 season. That day, he allowed just one hit and one earned run over three innings of a Cardinals victory over the White Sox.

Woodford’s best season as a Cardinal came in 2022, when he went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in 27 games (one start). In 2023, he was inserted into the starting rotation just days before the start of the season after Adam Wainwright was injured during the World Baseball Classic. He appeared in 15 games (eight starts) before being sent down to Triple-A Memphis after compiling a 6.23 ERA.

In 80 games (18 starts) with the Cardinals, he went 10-7 with a 4.29 ERA. He struck out 119 in 184 2/3 innings, while also allowing 26 homers.

Woodford pitched for the Pirates and White Sox in 2024, for the Diamondbacks in 2025 and the Brewers, Cubs and Rays in 2026.

Regardless of whether Woodford ever throws another pitch in the big leagues, he is guaranteed of winning a World Series ring in the next couple of weeks.