Veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff has opted to return to the Milwaukee Brewers rather than test free agency.
Woodruff accepted his one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer to stay with the Brewers for 2026, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday.
He previously declined his side of a $20 million mutual option for 2026, taking a $10 million buyout from the Brewers instead.
The Brewers then made Woodruff a qualifying offer that would have resulted in the club receiving draft pick compensation had the pitcher signed elsewhere.
Originally drafted by the Brewers in 2011, Woodruff made his Milwaukee debut in 2017 and earned his first All-Star nod in 2019.
Woodruff made 103 starts while recording an ERA of 2.93 from 2019 to 2023, ranking him behind only Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw over the stretch, per FanGraphs.
His 2023 season, however, was cut short by a right shoulder injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024 campaign.
Despite his injury status, the Brewers signed Woodruff to a two-year deal ahead of the 2024 season.
Woodruff then battled back from his subsequent surgery and multiple setbacks during the rehabilitation process to make his 2025 season debut on July 6.
The 32-year-old went on to record a 3.20 ERA through 12 starts and 64.2 innings pitched to help the Brewers clinch the NL Central and a playoff berth.
The Brewers will hope bringing Woodruff back on his qualifying offer will allow the team to get a fully healthy age-33 season from one of the most reliable starters in franchise history.
Woodruff could meanwhile take one step closer to finishing out his MLB career with his longtime team.