Chourio (left hand fracture) placed on 10-day injured list

MILWAUKEE -- In an Opening Day shocker on Thursday, the Brewers placed outfielder Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left hand hours before their season opener and said he would miss at least the first two to four weeks of the regular season.

Chourio was hit by a pitch on March 4 while playing an exhibition game for Venezuela in West Palm Beach, Fla., ahead of the World Baseball Classic. X-rays at the time were negative and he sat out the first two games of the tournament -- but he had been playing ever since, including both of the Brewers’ exhibition games against the Reds in Milwaukee on Monday and Tuesday.

On a check swing during one of those games, Chourio felt renewed discomfort and went for an MRI scan, which revealed a small hairline fracture at the base of his middle finger.

“It’s rough, for sure. You want to be out there with them,” Chourio said through translator Daniel de Mondesert. “But equally, I’ll be in here, supporting them as I always am. It’s a long season.”

The IL move was retroactive to Wednesday, meaning Chourio won’t be eligible to return until April 4 in Kansas City at the very earliest. Switch-hitter Blake Perkins, the last outfielder optioned to Triple-A at the end of Spring Training, was recalled to take Chourio’s place on the Opening Day roster, and Jake Bauers, the Brewers’ unofficial Spring Training MVP with seven home runs and a 1.725 OPS, was told he’d start in left field in Chourio’s place.

Chourio, 22, is bidding to continue the historic start to his career, which began with signing a record-setting eight-year, $82 million contract in December 2023 -- unprecedented for a player with zero Major League experience. He became the youngest player to secure a 20-20 season as a rookie in 2024, then became the youngest player with multiple 20-20 seasons in '25.

Per their early timeline, the Brewers hope to have Chourio back before the end of April.

“It looks like it’s fractured very slightly, but it’s something we want to be really cautious with because of what he means to our team,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. “Obviously, [it's] a tough blow for us, a tough blow for the kid because he’s such a good person and means a lot to our clubhouse.”

The Brewers’ medical team was in constant contact with their Team Venezuela counterparts at the time of the initial injury, and every protocol was followed to a T, Arnold and Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

As Murphy put it, in baseball, “things are going to happen.”

“When he got hit by the pitch, I immediately texted, ‘Send him home.’ I was half-joking,” Murphy said. “Hit by a pitch doesn’t mean you’re out. He said he felt fine. They scanned it there, no fracture. Came back [following the WBC] and they scanned it, no fracture. Then it kept giving him problems so they went in and did an MRI and can see things other scans can’t see. …

“So this is it. This is how it happens every year. Look at Opening Day last year, how many guys were on the IL. We’re fortunate.”

The move came as a surprise in the Brewers’ clubhouse, and in Nashville, where Perkins was preparing to hit in a simulated game against Brewers fifth starter Brandon Woodruff on Wednesday. Manager Rick Sweet informed Perkins he needed to get to Milwaukee to replace an injured player, though he didn’t say who.

Perkins caught a 9 p.m. flight and was in a hotel soon after 11 p.m., meaning he was ready to contribute if needed on Opening Day. He’s a former NL Gold Glove Award finalist and a plus defender at all three outfield spots, so he will figure in the Brewers’ plan to bridge Chourio’s absence. So will designated hitter Christian Yelich, who is expected to play more left field this season now that he’s another year removed from back surgery.

“It’s all about staying ready and taking every opportunity you can,” Perkins said. “The only constant in this game is change.”

“We talked about this in Spring Training,” Bauers said. “Everything has to be day to day at this point. I’ll continue to see things that way. You know [injuries] are going to happen at some point in the season, whether it happens on Opening Day or July 20. It just happened a little earlier this year, so everyone is going to have to pick it up a little bit.”