The Milwaukee Brewers, winners of the last two National League Central titles, will be without one of their stars for the opening weeks of the 2026 season. The club on Thursday before their opener against the White Sox placed young outfielder Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left hand. According to the club, Chourio is expected to miss at least the first 2-4 weeks of the regular season. The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, and outfielder Blake Perkins was recalled from Triple-A to take Chourio’s place on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster.

Chourio suffered the injury when he was struck on the hand by a pitch on March 4 while playing in an exhibition game for Venezuela in advance of the World Baseball Classic, which Chourio and Venezuela eventually won. That HBP from Nationals righty Clayton Beeter caused Chourio to miss the first two games of the WBC, but he soon after returned to play and also played regularly in the Cactus League after rejoining the Brewers. 

However, Chourio experienced pain in his hand and underwent a recent MRI, which turned up the hairline fracture, according to MLB.com. “It’s actually begun to heal,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Chourio’s injury. “We’re just worried that there could be further injury if he doesn’t take care of it now.”

Chourio, who just recently turned 22, is one of the most promising young stars in the game today. Signed to a long-term extension before he’s even debuted in the majors, Chourio across two MLB seasons has an OPS+ of 115 and a WAR of 6.1 through the first 279 games of his big-league career. In both of those seasons, he topped 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, which made him the youngest player ever to record multiple 20-20 campaigns.

The switch-hitting Perkins could see time in the lineup while Chourio is out, and it’s also possible that veteran outfielder Christian Yelich, who was a primary DH last season, could return to some regular outfield duty during Chourio’s absence.