Brewers make surprising roster decision in outfield group one week before Opening Day

The position player group that the Milwaukee Brewers were expected to carry on their Opening Day roster appeared mostly set for much of the 2026 spring exhibition season. An infield consisting of Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers at first base, Brice Turang at second base, Joey Ortiz at short, Luis Rengifo at third, and David Hamilton as the utility man seemingly remains unchanged just one week from Opening Day. As does the Brewers' catching corps, which is almost certain to consist of William Contreras and Gary Sánchez.

In the outfield, most fans were expecting to see a starting group of Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Jackson Chourio, with Blake Perkins as the fourth outfielder, and Christian Yelich receiving starts here and there, but primarily serving as the team's designated hitter. However, as just revealed by MLB.com Brewers' beat reporter Adam McCalvy, Perkins has been optioned to Triple-A just seven days before Opening Day, suggesting that 2025 trade deadline acquisition Brandon Lockridge will serve as the team's fourth outfielder to start the season.

It's a pretty stunning move from the Brewers, not because Lockridge isn't deserving of the honor of being on the Opening Day roster, but because Perkins has been Milwaukee's go-to fourth outfielder when healthy for much of the last three seasons. As a switch hitter who plays elite defense and can impact the game on the basepaths, Perkins fits the mold of the fourth outfielder perfectly. It's certainly news that won't be easy to digest for the 29-year-old Perkins, but it by no means suggests that he won't be an important part of the Brewers' roster in 2026, just not at the beginning of the season.

Brewers option Blake Perkins to Triple-A in a move that suggests outfielder Brandon Lockridge will make Opening Day roster

The surprising nature of the move should not discredit just how good of an option Lockridge is as a fourth outfielder. Much like Perkins, he's an excellent defender and possesses elite speed that translates to strong baserunning skills. He's not a switch-hitter like Perkins, batting only from the right side, but with left-handed outfield options like Mitchell, Frelick, Yelich, and Bauers, what the Brewers truly need in their outfield is another right-hander. Perkins was likely to get most of his early season starts against southpaws, so not much is lost by going from a switch-hitter to a pure right-hander like Lockridge.

As noted by Brewers reporter Sophia Minnaert on the social media platform X, many factors go into a decision like this. One major factor has to be Lockridge's current form. Spring Training results aren't supposed to play too big of a role in Opening Day roster decisions, but it's hard to ignore what Lockridge has done in the Cactus League. In 12 games, the 29-year-old Lockridge is slashing .314/.442/.686 with four homers (tied with Jake Bauers for the most on the team) and three stolen bases. Meanwhile, Perkins is slashing just .290/.343/.323 with only one extra base hit.

Rewarding Cactus League performances hasn't always worked out for the Brewers. Just last year, Milwaukee handed Vinny Capra an Opening Day roster spot after his blistering hot spring season, and he was designated for assignment in mid-May, which was maybe a few weeks too late. However, the Brewers clearly see something in Lockridge; they gave up a talented prospect in Jorge Quintana and Nestor Cortes at the trade deadline to acquire him. Pair that with his performance this spring, and Lockridge's story will be an exciting one to monitor.

As previously noted, Perkins will absolutely be an important part of the Brewers' roster this year. It's important to remember that the Opening Day roster simply offers a snapshot of the many players that factor into a team's full-season success. However, it's no doubt a significant development that Lockridge has seemingly leap-frogged Perkins on the depth chart after the latter has played an integral role in the Brewers' recent success.