Brandon Woodruff's Long-Awaited Brewers Return Getting Closer

The Milwaukee Brewers got a big arm back for the starting rotation on Thursday night in seven-year big league veteran Aaron Civale.

Civale won't be the last starter to return in the near future for Milwaukee. Fellow starters Brandon Woodruff and José Quintana are working their way back as well. Woodruff is arguably the most intriguing player to watch out for on the roster right now.

Woodruff was close to making his debut a few weeks ago but an ankle injury caused a setback. He has since started a second minor league rehab assignment and got through it cleanly on Wednesday. Woodruff pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.

He's making progress and manager Pat Murphy said on Thursday that he will "likely" need another rehab appearance, as shared by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak.

"Brandon Woodruff, who threw 59 pitches in 4 IP yesterday for Class AAA Nashville, will likely make another rehab start there according to Pat Murphy," Rosiak said. "DL Hall also fared well, striking out 6 in 3 IP/57 pitches, with the duo combining on a shutout of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre."

This isn't too shocking and has seemed like it was going to be the case over the last few days. Murphy confirmed the news on Thursday. If all goes well, there's a chance that he could be back in the majors for the first time since 2023 afterward. Hopefully, there aren't anymore setbacks and he can get back to Milwaukee in the very near future.