Pressure mounts for Brewers players with something to prove before injured stars return

Just days remain before the Milwaukee Brewers will receive a major boost to their offense. The Brewers, who have once again been the victim of a string of early-season injuries, are expected to return both Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn to their lineup early this week. The team set an aggressive expected return date of Monday, May 4, when they sent Chourio and Vaughn on rehab assignments this past Wednesday, and given how comfortable both players have looked through their first few games with the Nashville Sounds, an abbreviated rehab stint looks to be very much in the cards.

Though Milwaukee has managed to remain a winning ballclub even while Chourio and Vaughn (and Christian Yelich) reside on the injured list, there's no doubt the team and Brewers fans are anxiously awaiting the returns of their recovering stars. Both Chourio and Vaughn were fixtures near the top of the Brewers' lineup during the second half of Milwaukee's record-breaking 2025 season, and are expected to play important roles in the team's campaign to secure their fourth consecutive NL Central title.

While Chourio and Vaughn's returns draw nearer, a spotlight is inevitably shone on the fringe of the Brewers' roster, where questions remain regarding which currently rostered players will lose their spots in the coming days. Such a scenario creates even more pressure for struggling players to perform and prove they are worthy of maintaining their spot on the roster as it becomes more crowded -- a reality Brewers' manager Pat Murphy is very much aware of.

"If you're looking to escape pressure. This isn't the job," said Murphy when asked about the situation facing the players who may lose their big-league roster spots in the coming days. "There's pressure in the big leagues. There's situations that come up, and you're going to be the odd man out and you're not going to like it. That's just part of the politics, the business, whatever you want to call it, of baseball."

"We have choices every single day on how to respond to this adversity," Murphy continued. "If you're going to commiserate and agonize over it, then you're thinking about yourself too much...And if you're designated to Triple-A or designated for assignment or whatever the situation may be, realize what it is and respond well to it."

Chourio, Vaughn's approaching return to cause difficult roster decision for Brewers

It's the rare scenario where the Brewers will have to open two roster spots at once to accommodate the returns of both Chourio and Vaughn, which are expected to happen simultaneously. Looking at the Brewers' current 26-man, the three most recent additions -- Greg Jones, Blake Perkins, and Tyler Black -- stand out as the players who are most in jeopardy of losing their spot on the active roster.

Jones, who is out of options, meaning he would be designated for assignment in the event that he loses his roster spot in the coming days, has had a rough go of it with the Brewers over the last two and a half weeks. In 22 plate appearances, which make up a majority of Jones' 30 career MLB plate appearances, the switch-hitting utility man has collected just two hits and one RBI. Though removing Jones from the big-league roster does mean exposing him to waivers, it's likely he's one of the two players who will be on the outside looking in when Chourio and Vaughn return.

As for the other spot, it will almost certainly come down to Perkins and Black. The former has more big-league experience, is a far better defender, and has a track record of being a valuable bench player. However, Black is performing much better at the current moment and appears to be the favorite of the two to keep his roster spot when Chourio and Vaughn return. With both Chourio and Vaughn being right-handed hitters, Perkins' ability to hit from the right side becomes less important to the roster, and his opportunities in the outfield will be limited by Chourio's return, specifically.

Pair that with the fact that Perkins has just five hits in 53 plate appearances, and Black has nine hits in 22 plate appearances, and the decision seems like an easy one. Black has never truly been given an extended look at the major league level, and with the way he's currently swinging the bat, it would be unwise for the Brewers to cut short his ongoing hot streak.

However, for Perkins, who established himself as a big league outfielder over the last three seasons, and Jones, a former first-round pick still searching for his footing in the big leagues, the reality is a tough one to face. Each of them has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, but finds themselves in roster limbo due to the Brewers' increasingly crowded position player group. It's on them to heed their managers' advice and respond in a way that increases their chances of success going forward. That positive response, however, is far easier said than done in the face of career-altering decisions.

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