Brandon Woodruff is staying with the Milwaukee Brewers after all.
The right-hander has finalized a backloaded $17.5 million, two-year contract with Milwaukee that includes a mutual option for the 2026 season.
The deal was completed three months after the Brewers allowed the injured pitcher to test free agency rather than tendering him a contract for 2024.
“I’ve still got a lot of, I guess you could say unfinished business in a Brewers uniform,” Woodruff said Wednesday in a Zoom session with reporters.
“That’s the way I feel about it. That’s why I’m so super excited because for a second, I thought that was the end of it.”
Milwaukee also announced the signing of catcher Gary Sánchez on Wednesday to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2025. Sánchez hit 19 homers last season while playing for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.
The 31-year-old Woodruff is expected to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season while he recovers from shoulder surgery.
But the new contract could keep the two-time All-Star with the Brewers when he returns to the mound, whether that’s this year or next year.
“Back in November when we non-tendered Brandon, we said we had to make a very difficult decision relating to one of the best pitchers and human beings in franchise history,” Brewers President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold said Wednesday in a statement.
“We also said we remained very open to his return to Milwaukee.
Today, I am thrilled to say that Brandon has returned to the Brewers family. We look forward to guiding Brandon through his rehabilitation and ultimate return to the mound at American Family Field.
