Jackson Chourio Extension Report Realigns the Brewers Outfield Picture

Optimistic though we have all been about Jackson Chourio for over a year, the notion that he would be with the Brewers all season in 2024 previously felt a bit far-fetched. As well as he's adjusted at each level with which he's been challenged, and as prodigious as his talent is, the man will not turn 20 until March 11. He's a true five-tool guy, and the most important and multifarious of those--the hit tool--came along gorgeously in 2023. Still, there are skills (distinct from tools) that any player this young can stand to polish in the minor leagues. Until Tuesday, it felt safe to assume that the Brewers would have Chourio do some of that polishing to open 2024.

If, instead, he's on the Opening Day roster, several things change at once. Chourio can't be on the roster but out of the lineup, so someone in the outfield mix gets bumped to the bench (or back to Triple-A Nashville) by his arrival--perhaps two or three months ahead of schedule. The most direct and seemingly unavoidable result of this contract extension would be that the Brewers would then trade a young outfielder this winter, because otherwise, they'd end up with a logjam--a real and somewhat unwelcome one.

One partial solution to the pressure would be moving Christian Yelich to first base or designated hitter in a permanent way, but for the moment, let's set that option aside. It comes with several countervailing complications, and it feels premature. Thus, we can pencil Yelich into left field for the sake of this conversation. That leaves Chourio to fit in alongside some mixture of Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, Garrett Mitchell, Tyrone Taylor, Blake Perkins, and Chris Roller. The big question is how he would do so.

In that group, the best defensive center fielder is probably Mitchell. He blends top-end speed with a good arm and good instincts in a way the others can't quite match. If Chourio is going to be the team's cornerstone for the next decade, though, he's the one they should place in center. It could make sense to move him to right field in a couple of years, just as fellow Venezuelan phenom Ronald Acuña, Jr. made that move at a very young age, but he should start in center because it encourages and rewards the athleticism that makes both players so special. While Julio Rodríguez might move to right field as soon as his mid-20s, he set up shop in center field as a rookie and stayed there upon signing his own megadeal.

With Yelich and Chourio lined up to play left and center, then, we're shopping for the best deployment of the others in right field, as fourth and fifth outfielders, and as trade bait. That gets complicated, because trade value is so unknowable and none of these players is an ideal fit for an everyday corner outfield role. Right now, it feels like Frelick has the highest trade value, and like he's only marginally ahead of the others in projected on-field value for the short term--if ahead of them at all. That inclines me toward trading him, and letting Wiemer and Mitchell take up residence as a platoon in right field.

Taylor, too, seems like a trade candidate. He hasn't been durable or consistent enough to be a regular, and while he's still a solid fourth outfielder, his utility to this particular team dwindles once you write in Chourio. There are too many other, more versatile, optionable players in the mix. Even after dealing him and Frelick, the team would have Wiemer and Mitchell as co-starters with the ability to spell Yelich and/or Chourio as needed; Perkins as a defensive specialist in a pure bench role, with whom you'd be comfortable if injuries forced him to start a fistful of times; and Roller, who just got added to the 40-man roster and can be comfortably kept in Nashville unless and until a need arises.

The offensive upside of both Wiemer and Mitchell is an open question, but platooning would benefit each, and they have the raw tools to have significant value out there. Once you mentally convert Chourio from prospect to lineup fixture, the anxiety that arises from our shared uncertainty about those two and about Frelick begins to dissipate. The Brewers are in an enviable spot with their outfield, now more than ever. A Chourio extension would be the first in what would figure to be a series of quick steps toward clarifying and capturing the value of their depth.

Who would you trade if Chourio does sign this exciting potential deal? Would you have the rookie start in right field or center? Let's kick around the many possibilities.