Brewers' offseason signee's Opening Day candidacy takes a hit with latest injury news

Several position battles remain as the Milwaukee Brewers enter the final weeks of the 2026 spring exhibition season. Most notable is how the Brewers will handle their initial starting rotation with the Opening Day roster status of starting pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, and Logan Henderson still in question.

However, there's another, more under-the-radar position battle brewing down in Arizona. While the Brewers appear likely to go with a trio of Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, and Garrett Mitchell in their Opening Day outfield, there's still some uncertainty about who will grab the fourth outfielder role. Three players with MLB experience are vying for the role: Blake Perkins, Brandon Lockridge, and Akil Baddoo.

As the incumbent, Perkins is the favorite, but if the battle were based on Spring Training performance alone, he would be in last place. Even though Perkins is slashing a mighty fine .333/.409/.389 this spring, both Lockridge and Baddoo have been better. The former has a 1.287 OPS with a pair of home runs in Spring Training, and the latter boasts an .848 OPS with plenty of loud contact as well.

While this three-headed race looked to be one of the more interesting aspects of the final few weeks of Brewers camp, it now appears as if the race is down to two. As reported by MLB.com Brewers' beat writer Adam McCalvy on the social media platform X, Baddoo suffered a left quad strain in Monday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and is being evaluated by team doctors today. The update likely puts Baddoo out of the running for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Outfielder Akil Baddoo's quest for the Brewers' Opening Day roster stalled by quad strain

Baddoo was one of the Brewers' few free agent signings of the offseason, agreeing to a split contract that pays him a certain rate while he's in the minor leagues and a higher rate for his time spent in the majors. After a very strong season with the Detroit Tigers' Triple-A squad in 2025, Baddoo was hoping for as much time on the big-league roster as possible in 2026.

Though it was always going to be an uphill battle, usurping Perkins on the Brewers' depth chart, Baddoo was doing everything in his power to prove that he belonged on a big-league roster before going down with a quad strain just two weeks before Opening Day. In addition to proving that his power hasn't gone anywhere, Baddoo is 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts this spring, displaying a rare combination of power and speed that is coveted in today's game.

The severity of the injury is not yet known, but it would be shocking to see Baddoo out for an extended period of time. In all likelihood, this injury update will officially land him on the Triple-A roster to start the 2026 season, but shouldn't eat into his regular season too much. Nevertheless, it's a frustrating setback for a player who came out of the gates hot in Spring Training.