The Milwaukee Brewers begin the 2026 MLB season against the Chicago White Sox in Milwaukee, but there is going to be a very notable absence for the home team, and it’s not Freddy Peralta.
On Opening Day, just a few hours before the game, the Brewers announced that Jackson Chourio is going on the injured list with a fracture in his left hand. This is a brutal blow for the Brewers, as they now need to adjust the outfield before the season’s even started.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Brewers manager Pat Murphy revealed that Christian Yelich might move back to the outfield to begin the year with this unfortunate Chourio injury.
Brewers have new Christian Yelich plan amid Jackson Chourio’s injury
“Pat Murphy on MLBNetwork moments ago, speaking on Christian Yelich’s role after the Chourio injury: ‘(Yelich) wants to play the outfield, and I think he will,'” Morosi reports.
Yelich playing in the outfield is not something that the Brewers have done much with Yelich lately. He played in 122 games as an outfielder in 2023, but the last two years, he’s been a designated hitter primarily.
He played just 48 games in the outfield in 2024 compared to 26 at designated hitter. Then in 2025, he played 131 games as the DH compared to just 19 as an outfielder.
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But if there were ever a time for Yelich to return to the outfield for an extended period of time, it would be now.
Chourio is going to miss a few weeks, and with the Brewers clearly lacking in the outfield without him, Yelich returning there makes a ton of sense.
This plan from Pat Murphy isn’t a shocking one, as Yelich can still play in the outfield. But, compared to the initial plan to keep him as the designated hitter, this is a big change, as Yelich will be back in the field for more of the season with Chourio out for a while.