MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 23, 2026

Brandon Woodruff

Logan Henderson

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Woody, congratulations on making it back to the roster. When were you informed of the decision? How were you informed? Have they talked to you about what roles you might fill, whether it be beginning of games or out of the bullpen?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: We had a few discussions about that. I had a great conversation with Matt Arnold and Murph yesterday evening, and I found out later in the evening yesterday, after I'd already gone home from the field.

It was great. I expressed how I felt about things and kind of where I was, and I was very truthful and very open. It came down to I want one thing, whether I was on the roster or not, and that's to win. So whatever was decided, I was good with.

Obviously I love to compete and I want to pitch, but I understood the other side of it. Yeah, excited. I'm ready to go. My message was help in any capacity Murph needed me to get outs. I didn't really care what that looked like.

Q. Brandon, there's like the logic that has to be worked through in this decision, and then there's like the emotional part of it and the symbolic part of it. Where are you on the symbolic part of it and what it means to get to do this?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: That was the first thing I said, I didn't want this to be a charity pick. That was important to me. I wanted to feel like I could -- I wanted to be on the roster because I felt like I could help win. So I did not want this to be part of the decision.

I was very straightforward about that, so that was number one, I just wanted to win, and I feel like I could help win and give innings any way possible. That was just the message. I did not want that to be really factored into that.

Q. Having not been able to pitch in the postseason since '21 because of all the variety of injuries, how much sweeter does it make it to finally have this opportunity now after everything you've been through, not this year, but this previous years?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: Yeah, I'm trying to stay where my feet are now. I think our team's in a great place, and we've gotten here by doing a lot of great things. If that opportunity comes for me, I'll be ready for the moment, and I'll give it everything I've got.

We don't know how things are going to work out for us ever as athletes, but the one thing you can do is be prepared, and that's one thing I'll be. I'll be prepared if my opportunity comes.

Q. Logan, for you, for someone who has watched Brandon work his way back from his injury, what does it mean for you and this team to have him on the roster?

LOGAN HENDERSON: I think it truly means everything to this team and to the city. For those of us that are in the clubhouse and see the work that he puts in day in and day out, it's really cool to see it be rewarded and for him to get a shot to be on the roster.

It's hard to put the words together to say how much he means to this club. Yeah, it's pretty cool to see him a part of it.

Q. Brandon, when you came back in August and started talking about how you didn't need surgery and that kind of changed your long-term trajectory, I'm curious, you mentioned you didn't have any expectations. You had no idea if this was possible. If you had to put a percentage on it, what percent at that time did you think this was actually a possibility that you could pitch in the World Series in like two months?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: No idea. No idea. I can tell you the first couple weeks was -- I mean, I didn't throw for six to eight weeks, I guess somewhere in there. Heck, I was at home for three weeks getting ready to have surgery, and then things kind of turned around for me.

So I was there, maybe being at home with my family kind of helped things heal up, you know what I mean? Take a little time away. I was very fortunate that the Brewers kind of let me do that. They were on the road a lot during that span. So that was kind of easy.

I didn't have -- I knew what surgery meant for me, and I had no expectations, I truly didn't. Once I had my visit with Dr. Meister and he was like, Get back to throwing, don't want you to shut down, I don't think at that moment there was ever like a, hey, I'm going to pitch again this year or the World Series could be it. But as we started getting later and things kind of started playing out, that became a conversation.

Then as throwing progressed, it was kind of like the message. I stayed in contact with Dr. Meister, and the big thing was just keep dangling that carrot in front of your face, and if the opportunity presents itself -- I know it's in front of me. There's risk there, but that's something I was willing to take, and I made that clear when I had my visit with Dr. Meister and Murph, when I sat down with them.

Q. Congrats on getting to the World Series, and Brandon, congrats on getting back. Logan, the Rays struggle against the fastball a lot. How are you going to utilize the fastball against them tomorrow?

LOGAN HENDERSON: Yeah, my fastball is a big part of my game. So I'll definitely be throwing it tomorrow, but it comes down to execution and throwing it in the right count. So we're prepared for it, and we're going to sit down and have a meeting before the game tomorrow and talk about our game plan.

I've got a lot of trust with William behind the plate, so I'll definitely throw some fastballs tomorrow.

Q. Brandon, as the longest-tenured Brewer currently on the roster, what does this whole journey mean to you? When you actually heard from Murph and Matt, were you like one of those people that had so much adrenaline going through you, you could lift a car or lift a house or something like that?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: No. Honestly I think you're going to be a little underwhelmed by it. They called me, and I was actually driving home yesterday, and Murph just basically told me the news, and I was -- it didn't really hit me. I was kind of like thank you for the opportunity and, basically, let's go win this thing. That was pretty much the extent of the conversation.

It was like they've got work to do, I've got a job to do to mentally prepare, and I just thanked them. That was pretty much it, yeah.

Q. Logan, what would you say you've learned from your first two starts, and how valuable do you think those are going to be going into your Game 2 start here?

LOGAN HENDERSON: I think there's definitely value in having thrown it a couple games now rather than just getting activated and throwing the first time in the playoffs and the World Series, I think there's some value to it.

Kind of just the preparation leading up to it, there's a lot of feelings you're feeling on the day of. So it's kind of just knowing how to take those feelings and move forward with it and just treat the game the same way I did in the regular season.

I think tensions are going to be higher, adrenaline is going to be higher, but going back to those two games, learned some things about myself within the game that would help me moving forward. Yeah, I think throwing those two games helps.

Q. Brandon, knowing all that you've been through to get back physically and that you were a teammate at one point of Drew Rasmussen and knowing he's come back from three major elbow procedures, do you have a greater appreciation for what he's been through to get to this point and how good he's been doing it?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: Yeah, I do. It's not easy. Drew is an unbelievable person. That was very evident the first time I got to meet him after being drafted and getting to watch him pitch here and after he was traded and going through the elbow injury again. You have sentiment for guys who go through that kind of stuff and have to battle back.

Man, he had an unbelievable year. He's throwing the heck out of the ball. That's props to him.

But I think first and foremost, Ras is a great guy. He's a great teammate, and that's what I remember most about him being here, and he works his tail off for sure.

Q. What were the last couple of boxes you needed to check off that told you you were ready to come back?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: Facing hitters. I think once I got on the mound, each step, it's basically like the buildup process kind of in the off-season whenever you're getting ready for Spring Training. You're always going to be -- there's going to be some new sorenesses, there's going to be stuff along the way, and then your body kind of adapts and gets stronger.

Once I got through about two bullpens, I knew that there was -- there could be a shot in some capacity to be able to help, and then throwing in the scrimmage game the other day was the big test for me. It was a big day for me.

This is almost ten years, and I treat it as if I was at a showcase and trying to make the team, and I wouldn't want it any other way. That's kind of the way you have to treat it.

But I would say probably after the first couple bullpens, I kind of knew there could be a shot for sure.

Q. Logan, who did you root for growing up? What were some of the first World Series memories that you had? Did you ever go to any games or just anything on TV that stands out?

LOGAN HENDERSON: Yeah, I grew up a big Astros fan. I was fortunate to watch that run that they went on when I was in high school. My dad had always said, if they go to the World Series, we'll go. So I've actually been to four World Series games, one in each year that Houston went.

Some of the moments that stand out to me was Bregman's walk-off in Game 5 in 2017. Yordan had a huge homer in 2022. I was drafted at that point. Still watched them pretty closely.

Yeah, I think honestly my first World Series memory is St. Louis and Texas in '11. That was a really good series. But yeah, I grew up an Astros fan.

Q. Did you go to the Bregman game, the walk-off he had?

LOGAN HENDERSON: I went to the game before that. I went to Game 4.

Q. And the Alvarez home run game?

LOGAN HENDERSON: I wasn't at that one. In '21 I was at Game 6 when Atlanta won it, when Soler cleared the train tracks. That was pretty cool as a fan. I was a fan of Houston, but I was a fan of the game. Those are the two games that stick out.

Q. This is for both of you. There was an eight-day layoff in between the NLCS and today. I was curious what your guys' emotions were like showing up to the stadium today, and also what you guys were expecting from the fan reception on your lineup announcements later?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: It's been pretty cool. I think the layoff has been after the San Diego series -- or before the San Diego series, it really helped us prepare, kind of know how to get ready for the series with L.A. and then leading into this. I would just say around the city it's been pretty crazy.

As soon as we got back, I took my kids out just to the local parks and stuff and getting them out of the house, and people are decked out in gear. You definitely catch a lot more people taking pictures of you in the wild, and that can be pretty awkward sometimes when you catch them.

Man, the fans are ready. We're ready. It's been so cool to see how much they've been behind us up to this point.

LOGAN HENDERSON: Yeah, to piggy-back on that, it's just a lot of excitement. You feel the buzz around the city. I think we're really excited to see the seats filled again today. Most electric atmosphere in baseball. We're looking forward to it for sure.

Q. Woody, your wife has been through this with you the whole way. What did it mean to her when she found out you made this roster?

BRANDON WOODRUFF: She was excited. She had to figure out some wardrobe changes, I think. She had to get that kind of dialed in.

No, she's been with me the whole way. We've been together since we were, shoot, 15 years old. So it started in high school, and it's still going. She's seen the ups and downs. She's seen it all.

She's the one. She's my greatest weapon. She's my -- she puts me in my place at home if I'm whining too much about whatever it is. She's the one who is behind the scenes keeping me steady.