The Milwaukee Brewers will begin their quest to defend their NL Central championship without star outfielder Jackson Chourio, who suffered a broken left hand during spring training activities.
Team officials announced Thursday that Chourio has been placed on the 10-day injured list, with the designation backdated to Wednesday. The timing comes just hours before Milwaukee’s season opener against the Chicago White Sox, with medical staff projecting a recovery period of two to four weeks.
“It’s rough, for sure,” Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “You want to be out there with them. … I’ll be out here supporting them as I always am. It’s a long season. I’m looking forward to being back soon with them and getting to play a big part of it.”
The setback delivers a significant impact to Milwaukee’s offensive plans as they pursue their fourth consecutive division title. The 22-year-old Venezuelan has achieved the rare feat of recording 20-plus home runs and 20-plus stolen bases in both of his major league campaigns.
The hand problem initially surfaced on March 4 when Chourio took a hit-by-pitch from Washington’s Clayton Beeter during a spring exhibition between Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic squad and the Nationals in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Despite missing Venezuela’s opening two WBC contests, Chourio returned to help his national team capture the championship. However, when a check swing during this week’s exhibition series against Cincinnati in Milwaukee caused discomfort, medical imaging revealed a small hairline break at the base of his third metacarpal bone.
“We got another image on it and it looks like it’s fractured — very slightly — but it’s something we want to be really cautious with because of how much he means to our team,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said.
When questioned about whether the fracture originated from the March 4 incident, Arnold acknowledged uncertainty.
“It’s unclear,” Arnold said. “It could have been. It didn’t show up on any X-rays, so he was trying to play through it and was a little bit sore,” Arnold said. “It could have been one of those things, and it just gets a little aggravated against the Reds and showed up on that image.”
Arnold also addressed whether the organization might have preferred keeping Chourio from WBC competition following the initial incident.
“Any time you have guys in those types of situations, you always worry about it when they go play for somebody else,” Arnold said. “It’s certainly a possibility that a guy gets hurt. But it’s also a great event for the league. I really enjoyed obviously at the end of the series there with Venezuela and the United States. We were watching the game obviously with our scouting group — Venezuelan guys in the room and Dominican guys. It was a really fun event. I think it’s a great event for Major League Baseball.”
Last season, Chourio posted a .270 batting average with a .308 on-base percentage, alongside 21 home runs, 78 RBIs and 21 stolen bases across 131 games. Milwaukee secured his services in December 2023 with an eight-year, $82 million deal — the largest guaranteed contract ever given to a player without major league experience.
His postseason performance has been exceptional, posting a .341 average with a 1.044 OPS, four homers and 11 RBIs over 12 career playoff contests.
“Things are going to happen,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You’ve got to be able to just not flinch. I’m disappointed for the kid because he was excited about this season, coming off the WBC the way he did.”
Outfielder Blake Perkins, originally slated for minor league assignment, will take Chourio’s roster position. The 29-year-old Perkins managed a .226 average with a .298 on-base percentage, three homers, 19 RBIs and seven steals in 54 appearances with Milwaukee last year.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Perkins said. “Obviously things can change really quickly. I’m not happy obviously with why I’m here, but like in the past, I’ll do the best I can to fill my role and be a good teammate and be a winning ballplayer.”
Jake Bauers stepped into Chourio’s typical left field position for Tuesday’s contest. Bauers, who provides versatility at first base as well, compiled a .235 average with a .353 on-base percentage, seven homers, 28 RBIs and eight steals in 85 games during the previous campaign.
The 30-year-old Bauers enters the season following a strong spring training performance, going 18-for-39 with seven home runs during exhibition play.
