Brewers' early 2026 Spring Training MVP goes down with minor shoulder injury

If you had to assign the coveted Cactus League MVP award to one Milwaukee Brewer at this stage in Spring Training, it would be hard not to give the honor to Brandon Lockridge. The speedy outfielder, who will turn 29 years old prior to the start of the 2026 campaign, has been on a tear at the plate in the early goings of Spring Training, while alleviating one of the biggest concerns that Brewers fans had about his profile.

When Milwaukee traded for Lockridge at the 2025 trade deadline, parting ways with the significant trade package of Nestor Cortes and shortstop prospect Jorge Quintana to land the outfielder from the San Diego Padres, many Brewers fans were weary of their team adding what seemed to be another glove-first player, who made up for his lack of power with strong defensive and baserunning skills. While the noise regarding the Brewers' lack of power as a team picked up, the move to acquire Lockridge was puzzling at the time, but now it's becoming clearer that the Brewers saw something in the former 5th-round pick that the Padres overlooked.

Lockridge has hit safely in each of his first four Cactus League games of 2026, but what's been even more encouraging is the power that the Brewers' recent trade acquisition has displayed. In his Cactus League debut, Lockridge slugged a 440-foot homer off Cleveland Guardians starter Joey Cantillo, and two days later, against his former team, he added another homer to his statsheet.

Yes, it's a tiny sample size, but Lockridge is out to prove that he belongs on the Brewers' Opening Day roster in 2026, and so far he's done everything possible to make his point. Unfortunately, his big league roster campaign just hit a roadblock. As announced by team insider Adam McCalvy of MLB.com on the social media platform X just moments ago, Lockridge will miss roughly one week of games after sustaining a minor rotator cuff injury.

Brandon Lockridge's campaign for Brewers' 2026 Opening Day roster stalled by minor shoulder injury

Lockridge is in the middle of a battle for the Brewers' fourth outfield spot heading into the 2026 season. Assuming the Brewers go with a starting outfield of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick on Opening Day -- which is by no means guaranteed -- there are three players with a case to be the team's initial fourth outfielder: Lockridge, Blake Perkins, and Akil Baddoo.

Baddoo is also off to a hot start this spring, and Perkins is still the favorite as the incumbent fourth outfielder, but Lockridge's Cactus League performance thus far has turned heads. MLB teams need to be careful not to put too much stock into Spring Training performances, as it can often lead to some ill-informed decisions, but clearly the Brewers see something they like in Lockridge, and it appeared as if it was coming to fruition in the Cactus League.

Luckily, according to McCalvy, it's just a minor injury that will keep Lockridge away from the field for less than a week. While it might stall his momentum, there are still plenty of opportunities for the toolsy outfielder to prove his value before Opening Day.