Brewers lose 2025 Triple-A outfield depth piece to NL West contender

The Milwaukee Brewers made necessary use of their outfield depth in 2025. Entering the season, fans expected an everyday lineup of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick, with Blake Perkins filling in as the fourth outfielder and making starts against left-handed starting pitchers. However, as is practically always the case, nothing went according to plan.

Perkins fouled a ball off his right shin in batting practice during Spring Training, fracturing a bone, which caused him to miss the first half of the season. As a result, Isaac Collins was awarded a spot on the Opening Day roster, but the Brewers were still expected to roll out Chourio, Mitchell, and Frelick most of the time. And they did, for the first month of the season before Mitchell went down with an oblique strain that turned into a season-ending shoulder injury during his rehab stint. As a result, by the second month of the season, the Brewers were essentially forced to turn to Collins as their everyday left fielder.

Collins, however, turned out to be an excellent replacement for Mitchell. Once the 27-year-old rookie found his footing, he posted strong numbers in both June and July, earning Rookie of the Month honors during the latter.

However, Collins' breakout didn't prevent the Brewers from having to turn to Triple-A outfielders Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, and Steward Berroa at various points throughout the season. Sitting just behind those names on the depth chart was a former Pittsburgh Pirate who, despite having a solid season for the Nashville Sounds, never earned a shot with the Brew Crew last year. Now, he's headed to the NL West where he will try to crack the San Francisco Giants' big-league roster in 2026.

2025 Nashville Sounds' outfielder Jared Oliva lands minor league deal with San Francisco Giants

Had the Brewers' front office not acquired outfielder Brandon Lockridge at the 2025 trade deadline, it's very likely that the team would have instead turned to Jared Oliva at some point during Jackson Chourio's hamstring injury in August. The now-30-year-old Oliva joined the Brewers on a minor league deal in November of 2024 after appearing in parts of two seasons with the Pirates in 2020 and 2021.

Despite not breaking through in Milwaukee last year, there's still a lot to be encouraged by in Oliva's profile. He's incredibly fast, an excellent defender, and displayed a little power with the Sounds last year, popping 11 homers in 95 games. Ultimately, he slashed .252/.335/.413 for a decent .748 OPS in Nashville last year.

Oliva joins a Giants' roster that could certainly use some help in the outfield, assuming the roster remains as is for the rest of the offseason. With Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos locked into starting roles, questions still remain about who will man right field for the Giants this upcoming season. Oliva will get a shot to prove his value in big-league camp this spring.