Can Woodruff's Fit Mets' Long-Term Plans?

The New York Mets appear to have set their sights on building toward being contenders in 2025. On Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers may have helped them out.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ decision to non-tender pitcher Brandon Woodruff on Friday has probably the most curious decision of the 63 players that were non-tendered, a list that included Mets slugger Daniel Vogelbach.

It’s not often that a 30-year-old, two-time All-Star pitcher with postseason experience hits the market, and does so with a quality win-loss record, an enviable walk rate and WHIP.

A right-hander like Woodruff hits the market and you think it’s going to cost a lot. In this case, it might not — and it’s one reason why the Mets should entertain the prospect.

Another reason is that one of Woodruff's former bosses, David Stearns, now works as the Mets' president of baseball operations. 

The final reason is that Woodruff fits snugly into their timeline, and it’s part of the reason he’s available.

Woodruff pitched just nine starts in 2023 as he dealt with shoulder issues. When he pitched, he was sharp, with a 2.59 ERA. But the shoulder issue came up again just before the Brewers started their NL Wild Card series and he was shut down.

After the season, he underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder. It’s likely he will miss a good portion of 2024, if not all of it.

The issue for the Brewers was that Woodruff was entering his final year of salary arbitration, where he could have made $11 million. He will become a free agent after the 2024 season.

The Brewers could have tendered Woodruff and signed him to a deal only to see him not pitch in 2024 and then test free agency. Or, they could have tried to sign him to an extension.

The Brewers even, reportedly, talked with other teams about trading Woodruff, per MLB.com. But those talks went nowhere.

So they non-tendered him.

The Mets are in the market for starting pitching that can help them this season and beyond. A player like Woodruff fits that expectation, and because he’s hurt this year the Mets would possibly sign him to a deal that spans two years, one that carries him through the injury recover and comes with options in 2025 and beyond that give both sides an out or incentives to hit.

Plus, by signing him the Mets would get the opportunity to offer Woodruff a qualifying offer when he hits free agency.

Because, when Woodruff is healthy, he’s undeniably good.

In seven seasons with Milwaukee he went 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA. He has 788 career strikeouts and 176 career walks. He struck out 10.4 hitters per nine innings and walked just 2.3 per innings.

His best season was 2022, during which he went 13-4 with a 3.05 ERA. He was an All-Star in the 2019 and 2021 seasons.

In 2021, he finished fifth in Cy Young voting despite a 9-10 record. He had a 2.56 ERA.