Major Injury to Rival Even More Reason for Cubs to Have Aggressive Offseason

In case you missed the news from Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers revealed a major injury to their starting rotation as ace pitcher Brandon Woodruff underwent surgery on his right shoulder that is expected to keep him out for most of the 2024 season if not all of it.

The 30-year-old missed the majority of the 2023 season with shoulder issues and was then ruled out the day before the Brewers were ready to begin their Wild Card round series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Milwaukee lost both games at home and were immediately eliminated from the postseason.

Woodruff only made 11 starts this season, but he still showed why he's the Brewers' top starter, as he posted a 2.28 ERA in 67 innings.

Woodruff, who made his MLB debut in 2017, has recorded a 3.10 ERA in 680.1 innings with the Brewers. His 3.10 ERA is the best in Brewers history. Since the right-hander became a full-time starting pitcher in 2019, he's had a 2.93 ERA in 595 innings. This is most definitely a devastating blow for the Brewers.

The Brewers won the NL Central in 2023 with a 92-70 record, finishing nine games ahead of the second place Chicago Cubs. Now, although the Brewers were able to maneuver through a huge chunk of the year without Woodruff, not having him from the very beginning and right now it appears as though he won't pitch for them at all in 2024, might present a much bigger challenge for Milwaukee.

This isn't to say that the Brewers won't make a few moves to fill the void, but on the flip side the loss of Woodruff for them gives the Cubs even more reason to have an aggressive offseason to position themselves as the favorite to win the division in 2024.

There could be so many trickle down effects to this Woodruff injury. He was set to enter his final year of arbitration in 2024, when he's projected to earn about $11 million. However, we've seen the Brewers operate under a strict budget at times, so are they going to pay Woodruff that much to not pitch? They won't non-tender him, right? We have seen two-year deals from other teams in similar scenarios, but then that might eat into their allocated money as well.

Does Craig Counsell, who is only under contract with Milwaukee through October, look at this situation and think that he's better off elsewhere? Do the Brewers make other trades to off-load money to keep Corbin Burnes around with Woodruff's uncertain future?

Regardless of this recent development, we know that the Cubs are going to be active this offseason. However, they now have a better path to truly become not just a division favorite, but elevate to one of the top teams in the National League.