Brewers' Woodruff declines $20M mutual option, becomes free agent
Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff is officially on the market.
Woodruff became a free agent Monday after declining his half of a $20-million mutual option, the Brewers announced. He'll instead receive a $10-million buyout from the team, which will be paid Jan. 15 and July 15 in equal installments, according to Cot's Contracts.
Woodruff should be a sought-after starter in free agency following his solid comeback season in 2025. After missing all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery, he returned to post a 3.20 ERA, 3.17 FIP, and 0.91 WHIP along with a career-best 11.6 K/9 rate across 12 starts for the 97-win Brewers.
However, the 32-year-old's injury woes resurfaced late in the year when he suffered a season-ending lat strain. The injury forced him to miss Milwaukee's playoff run, which included the Brewers reaching the NLCS for the first time since 2018. Woodruff's made just 23 starts over the last three seasons because of injuries.
Woodruff owns a lifetime 53-28 record with a 3.10 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 871 strikeouts across 745 big-league innings, all of them in a Brewers uniform. The Mississippi native is a two-time All-Star and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting in 2021.
On Monday, Milwaukee exercised its $8-million club option on ace Freddy Peralta, who won an NL-best 17 games in 2025. Catcher Danny Jansen, meanwhile, saw the team decline its half of a $12-million mutual option in favor of paying him a $500K buyout.
The Brewers also added right-hander Coleman Crow, ranked as the club's No. 25 prospect by MLB.com, to the 40-man roster.