Rays, Brewers Unveil 2026 MLB World Series Rosters Ahead of Historic Showdown

The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers announced their 2026 World Series rosters on Friday.

The most notable change from the teams' American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series rosters is the Brewers' addition of pitcher Brandon Woodruff.

Per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy , Woodruff was seemingly headed for season-ending surgery after leaving a July start with an injury to his throwing shoulder, but when scans showed improvement in August, he decided to start a throwing program in hopes of being a factor in the playoffs.

While Woodruff was not fully healed in time for the National League Division Series or NLCS, he is on the roster and could be a factor for the Brew Crew in their first World Series appearance since 1982.

The Rays and Brewers will clash in Game 1 of the 2026 Fall Classic on Friday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

McCalvy noted that someone with knowledge of the situation called it "50-50" regarding whether Woodruff would make the Brewers' roster, but now that he has, the focus shifts toward how he will be deployed.

It may be too much to ask for Woodruff to start a game in the World Series after being out for over three months, so he may be best utilized as a bullpen option.

However, Woodruff has not pitched out of the bullpen since his second MLB season in 2018.

A Brewer for his entire career, Woodruff is a two-time All-Star with a career record of 55-30 to go along with a 3.10 ERA and 918 strikeouts over 790.1 innings.

Injuries have limited him to 21 starts combined over the past three seasons, but Woodruff has long been an impactful, ace-level starter for the Brew Crew when healthy.

The Brewers' unquestioned current ace and NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski is getting the start in Game 1 against Nick Martinez.

Manager Pat Murphy's plans beyond that remain to be seen, although Logan Henderson seems most likely to start Game 2, while Dustin May, Robert Gasser and possibly even Woodruff are in the mix after that.

The Rays' World Series roster is largely the same as their ALCS squad with the exception of reliever Garrett Cleavinger, who replaces Brody Hopkins.

Cleavinger, a lefty, struggled during the regular season to the tune of a 4.79 ERA, but he was one of Tampa's most important relievers last season, posting a 2.35 ERA over 67 appearances.

Of course, both teams will lean heavily on their star players, headlined by third baseman Junior Caminero and starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen for the Rays, and Misiorowski and outfielder Jackson Chourio for the Brewers.

The winner of the 2026 World Series will go down in history since both the Rays and Brewers are searching for their first-ever World Series title.