The Milwaukee Brewers’ partnership with Brandon Woodruff will continue into at least the 2026 season.
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster of an offseason so far for Woodruff. He turned down his mutual option with the Brewers and landed a $10 million buyout in the process. Then, the Brewers tendered him the qualifying offer worth just over $22 million. The deadline for players to accept — or decline — the option is Tuesday afternoon. Because of this, all eyes were on Woodruff and the Brewers as he was one of just 13 players in the league who were tendered the qualifying offer.
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Well, fans don’t need to wait any longer. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that he will be accepting the offer and returning to Milwaukee in 2026 and that there’s a chance that the two sides work out a longer deal with a lower annual value as well.
The Brewers are keeping Brandon Woodruff
Sep 17, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
“Brandon Woodruff is accepting the qualifying offer and returning to the Brewers, source tells The Athletic,” Rosenthal reported. “… One possibility for Brewers is to sign Woodruff to a multi-year deal at a lower AAV.”
This is big for Milwaukee. Let’s get into the instant impact of the decision:
2026 starting rotation
The Brewers now know that Woodruff will be with the team in 2026. Milwaukee is coming off its best regular season performance in franchise history and now will get a full season of Woodruff, which wasn’t the case in 2024. The rotation looks good on paper right now and will feature at least Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, and Quinn Priester with other spots up for grabs. There could be either one or two spots up for grabs depending on what the club does with Freddy Peralta.
Future of Freddy Peralta
That leads right into the next point. What’s next for Peralta? There have been trade rumors around him this offseason. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that if Woodruff accepted the qualifying offer, it “drastically increases” the chances of a Peralta trade.
“Freddy Peralta, RHP, Milwaukee: If Brandon Woodruff accepts a qualifying offer, it drastically increases the chances of a Peralta trade. If Woodruff hits free agency, Peralta almost certainly will stay,” Passan reported.
Well, now Woodruff has accepted the qualifying offer so now all of the eyes will turn to Peralta as the Winter Meetings approach. The Brewers arguably should keep him because he’s cheap and a rotation with him, Woodruff, Misiorowski, and Priester for a full season could be among the best in baseball.
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