This is exactly why many of the teams were scared to send their top players to play the World Baseball Classic. The Milwaukee Brewers already lost Freddy Peralta after they traded him, and they couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. But an injury has taken away an $82M outfielder.

Talkin’ Baseball reported saying, “The Brewers have placed Jackson Chourio on the 10-day IL with a left hand fracture.”

Reports suggest that Jackson Chourio has suffered a left-hand fracture after getting hit by a pitch on March 4th. This came during the exhibition WBC game against the Nationals, where pitcher Clayton Beeter hit him.

Chourio says that he felt a sharp pain when he had a check swing against the Reds in Spring Training, and that was a big concern.

An MRI scan later, it was revealed that he had a small fracture in his third metacarpal. Doctors expect the injury to heal in the next two to four weeks, minimum. With just a few hours to go for Brewers Opening Day, this news has sent panic throughout Milwaukee, and there are strong reasons for it.

During the 2025 season, Jackson Chourio had an average of .270 with 21 homers. Along with that, he also had 78 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Those numbers show balanced production, combining power and speed across 131 games he played. But all is not lost for the Brewers.

To fill the roster spot, the Brewers have brought in Blake Perkins, who hit .226 with three homers in 2025. But the move giving confidence to Brewers fans is what they have done with Yelich. They have made a quick move to shift three-time All-Star Christian Yelich from DH to the outfield.

Manager Pat Murphy signaled a shift, saying Christian Yelich wants to return to outfield duties. “[Yelich] wants to play the outfield, and I think he will,” Murphy said on MLB Network.

Yelich played 128 games as a DH in 2025 and hit .264 with 29 homers. But with only 67 games in the outfield over the past two seasons due to a recurring back injury, there are going to be questions about his defensive abilities.

But Milwaukee will hope that he can do a decent job with the glove because nobody is doubting his ability with the bat.

Brewers fans are not happy with the news of Chourio’s injury

Milwaukee knows the impact Jackson Chourio has on the team and doesn’t even want to dream of what happens if they can’t enter the season on a good foot.

“How do they just now realize this, 4 hours before their game?” one fan wrote, questioning timing. He points at medical checks, wondering how a fracture surfaced only hours before Opening Day. The fans are in panic because they have seen this happen with the Atlanta Braves in 2025 after Acuna was rested for a Grade 1 right calf strain, and the Braves missed the postseason.

“Man, there have been a lot of hand fractures for star players this spring,” another fan pointed out, noticing a worrying trend. Reports already confirmed stars like Francisco Lindor and Corbin Carroll suffered hamate injuries this spring. Jackson Holliday also required surgery for a hamate fracture, ruling him out for Opening Day. With Chourio now added to the list, this pattern of hand injuries across teams feels hard to ignore.

Another fan wrote, “Missing 2-4 weeks but all good cuz his team won the WBC,” blaming tournament risks. He suggests Chourio should have stopped playing after being hit, instead of continuing games. Reports confirm he played through discomfort before imaging later revealed a fracture in his hand. That decision now sidelines him early, leaving the Milwaukee Brewers without a key bat immediately.

“Jackson Chourio IL. Gotta be kidding!” A fan showed immediate disbelief and frustration. The fans know how important Churio is to the team, especially after looking at his performance in 2025. Choirio hit two homers with an average of .303 in 9 postseason games in 2025. This is exactly why the fans are panicking in Milwaukee.

One fan wrote, “22 days ago? And no one thought we should get imaging?” questioning decisions. He points to the March 4 hit-by-pitch and asks why rest wasn’t enforced immediately. However, the initial X-rays came back clean, the reason for Chourio to continue playing.

He only later underwent an MRI that revealed the fracture. Given his eight-year, $82 million deal, fans expected earlier caution from the organization.

The question now will be when he can return to game fitness and how the Brewers will manage the outfield without him.