Mending Woodruff on verge of game action

PHOENIX -- Brandon Woodruff is ready to advance to the next step in his comeback from shoulder surgery: Pitching against another team.

Following a fourth live batting practice session on Wednesday and an encouraging visit with his surgeon on Thursday, Woodruff said on Friday morning that he expects his next outing to be in a Minor League Spring Training game next week. The Minor League slate opens Tuesday.

Woodruff¡¯s last mound session spanned 25 pitches and two simulated innings, with the bonus that his wife, Jonie, and daughter, Kyler, got to see him work. Just as encouraging was Woodruff¡¯s visit the following day with Dr. Keith Meister, the Dallas-based surgeon who performed his shoulder repair in October 2023.

¡°They do so many surgeries on guys who are out here [in Arizona] that they basically come out for a couple of days,¡± Woodruff said. ¡°Guys go check in, and you walk in there and see a lot of big leaguers. It¡¯s kind of crazy.

¡°I had a good checkup. Same old, same old. I¡¯m progressing, I¡¯m recovering, and he said, ¡®You¡¯ve got to progress to games. That first ¡®live,¡¯ there¡¯s adrenaline, but then you lose that when you go through it so many times. That first one I hit 92 [mph], and I¡¯ve stayed stagnant with velo. I¡¯ve not hit a wall but I¡¯ve leveled out there. Now I need to get in a game.¡¯¡±

If his Minor League games goes as planned, Woodruff surmised that the next step could be a Major League outing in the Cactus League. That would begin a ramp-up to a 30-day Minor League rehabilitation assignment.

But that¡¯s tentative. Woodruff has learned not to look too far ahead.

¡°I¡¯m right on track,¡± he said.

Good news for Ashby
It¡¯s always a good thing when a second opinion is more promising than the first. That¡¯s been the case for left-hander Aaron Ashby, who was feared to have suffered a Grade 2 strain of his right oblique during the second inning of his start Monday.

Subsequent testing, however, yielded a lesser diagnosis. Ashby will be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks, and he expects to resume building up to pitch as a starter.

¡°I¡¯m able to cough, sneeze. All the things that people say should hurt, don¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°So we¡¯re going to take that as good news.¡±

Ashby said he regularly feels tightness in his right oblique and didn¡¯t think much of it during his first inning of work Monday against the Reds. When the sensation worsened during his second inning, he opted for caution.

¡°I feel like I pulled the trigger early enough on coming out of the game,¡± Ashby said. ¡°I never felt it was all that bad. Talking to guys who have had Grade 2s, they said they couldn¡¯t move the next day, couldn¡¯t get out of the car by themselves, couldn¡¯t get off a plane. I felt like I could maybe throw a baseball right now. All things considered, I think we¡¯re in a good spot.¡±

Pannone shut down
The Brewers¡¯ starting pitching depth took an additional hit with news that left-hander Thomas Pannone suffered a torn flexor tendon during his start Sunday against Cleveland. Brewers doctors are not advising surgery, but Pannone will be shut down from throwing for at least one month.

A non-roster invitee to camp, Pannone was not expected to make the Opening Day roster but he did have a chance to help at the Major League level at some point during the season after a successful second half last year with the Yankees¡¯ Triple-A affiliate.