Blue Jays free agent target: Brandon Woodruff

The Milwaukee Brewers have consistently produced excellent pitchers over the past decade.

Brandon Woodruff is just one of many examples. When healthy, he’s a key member of the team’s rotation and can be a #2 in a rotation. While that’s not the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest need this off-season, it sure wouldn’t hurt.

If the Blue Jays are looking to upgrade their rotation this off-season, does Woodruff make sense? Let’s find out!

Brandon Woodruff’s profile

Woodruff’s biggest issue these past few seasons has been healthy. After starting 57 games between 2021 and 2022, the 33-year-old only appeared in 67 innings with the Brewers in 2023, missed all of the 2024 season, made 12 starts in 2025, and nine in 2026.

The numbers in this span have been good, make no mistake about it. Over those 177 innings from 2023 until 2026, Woodruff authored a 2.80 ERA and 3.34 FIP, with a 29.8 K% and 5.7 BB%. That’s numbers you’d expect from a pitcher who fronts a rotation, though Woodruff would likely follow Dylan Cease in the Blue Jays rotation.

Before these last four years, Woodruff remained relatively healthy. He started 22 games in 2019, owning a 3.62 ERA and 3.01 FIP in 121.2 innings of work, with a 29 K% and 6.1 BB%. During the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, he made 13 starts, owning a 3.05 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 73.2 innings of work, with a 31.1 K% and 6.1 BB%.

In 2021, he made 30 starts, finishing the season with a 2.56 ERA and 2.96 FIP over 179.1 innings of work, with a 29.8 K% and 6.1 BB%. And finally, he posted a 3.05 ERA and 3.08 FIP in 153.1 innings during the 2022 season, with a 30.6 K% and 6.8 BB%.

Among pitchers with 700 innings pitched since 2019, only Jacob deGrom and Clayton Kershaw have a better ERA than Woodruff’s 2.96 ERA, while only six pitchers have a better FIP than his 3.11 FIP. Those pitchers are deGrom, Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal, Christopher Sánchez, Logan Webb, and Zack Wheeler, some damn good pitchers.

Woodruff was set to enter free agency last year, but the Brewers gave him a qualifying offer, and he accepted, meaning he earned $22.03 million last season to throw just 45.1 innings. It’s hard to imagine he’ll command a payday that big this off-season, but he’ll cost a pretty penny if he reaches free agency.

At the end of the day, if the Blue Jays wish to sign the 33-year-old, the big question mark is his health. His track record when healthy is one of the best in baseball, but fewer than 200 innings over the past four years is concerning, no matter how good the pitcher is.