Brewers sour Opening Day festivities with surprise injury news

When Pat Murphy talked to the media ahead of Tuesday afternoon's exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds, he wasn't yet ready to reveal his Opening Day lineup. However, he alluded to the fact that either Jackson Chourio or Brice Turang would be leading off for the Brewers against Shane Smith in this afternoon's season opener.

Chourio seemed to be the leading candidate for leadoff duties, however, especially after assuming the role in the postseason last year. However, just moments ago, the Brewers made a surprising and disheartening injury announcement, revealing that Chourio will start the season on the 10-day IL due to a fracture in his left hand.

Chourio was hit by a pitch in the back of his hand on March 4 during his stint with Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, and it appears that injury hasn't progressed as the Brewers or their talented, young outfielder hoped it would. Despite Chourio playing in both of the Brewers' two exhibition games against the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week, he will be replaced on the Opening Day roster by Blake Perkins, who lost his roster spot to Brandon Lockridge just last week.

Jackson Chourio placed on IL with hand fracture just hours before Opening Day, replaced by Blake Perkins on the roster

Though Chourio did play in each of the final two Spring Training games against the Reds earlier this week, he did go 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, and his timing was clearly off. It was clear something wasn't right with the Brewers' young star, and it's now apparent that his hand still wasn't at 100% following his injury in the WBC.

Chourio was placed on the IL retroactively to March 25 (yesterday), but the Brewers are projecting a 2-4 week absence from the big league roster as his hand fracture heals. It's no doubt a blow to the Brewers' Opening Day festivities, but what matters more is Chourio's long-term health, and playing through an injury, especially a finicky one like a fracture in the hand, can lead to even worse outcomes.

Meanwhile, Perkins ends up earning a spot on the Opening Day roster after all. It was a week filled with emotions for the Brewers' glove-first outfielder, who was initially told he would start the year in Triple-A, only to be brought back to the roster to replace the injured Chourio. Perkins joins an outfield group of Lockridge, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and now, almost certainly, Jake Bauers, who will likely see more time in left field as a result of the Chourio injury.