As 2025 approaches, the Brewers have five outfielders that could make significant contributions
As the Brewers prepare for the offseason, one of their areas of strength will be the outfield. With five starters for three spots, there will be plenty of discussion on how to handle that.
Here’s a look at how the Brewers used their starting outfield spots throughout 2024 (number of games in parentheses).
Left Field
Jackson Chourio (79)
Christian Yelich (47)
Sal Frelick (21)
Jake Bauers (7)
Joey Wiemer (5)
Isaac Collins (3)
Center Field
Blake Perkins (104)
Garrett Mitchell (36)
Sal Frelick (21)
Joey Wiemer (1)
Right Field
Sal Frelick (87)
Jackson Chourio (56)
Garret Mitchell (15)
Brewer Hicklen (2)
Jake Bauers (2)
Even though the Brewers had five capable starters, they were able to mix them in effectively throughout the outfield. This depth also helped them respond to injuries, which affected the bulk of the seasons for both Mitchell and Yelich. As the outfield is expected to be completely healthy in the spring, the Brewers will once again have this excess depth in 2025.
Despite that depth, there are questions still looming for each of the outfield players this offseason. Let’s take a look at the big question for each of the outfielders this offseason.
How will Christian Yelich respond to back surgery?
The biggest question facing the Brewers’ outfield this offseason is the status of Christian Yelich. His season came to an end following back surgery, but he is expected to be healthy entering spring training. While that is good news, we’ll still have to wait and see how he looks overall in the spring.
There’s going to be a lot of concern over him as the season progresses, and several questions will need to be answered. How often will he be able to start in the outfield? How often will he need days off? Will he need an IL stint at some point? Can he play at the same level as before the surgery?
Considering the other four outfield starters, having Yelich make a lot of starts in the outfield could be counter-productive for the team. A good alternative for him entering 2025 could be to plan for him to be a primary designated hitter. This would allow the team to manage his workload better and get him into the lineup more often. However, he should still get regular starts in the outfield even if this ends up being the plan. That would allow the Brewers to also use the DH spot to manage the workload on other starters as well (such as William Contreras, who can’t start every game at catcher).
What will Jackson Chourio do in his second season?
After a slow start to the season, Jackson Chourio proved himself in his rookie year. From the start of June through the end of the season, he batted .303/.358/.525 with 16 home runs, 63 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and 60 runs scored. If he did not have that slow start for the season, he would be a very strong contender for the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. He should still get some votes for the award, but likely won’t win it.
Now that the league has seen a full year from Chourio, he’ll have to prove that he can keep it up in year two. There’s no doubt about Chourio’s position entering the season. He just has to repeat that success. What can Chourio do in his second season? Will he earn his first All-Star selection? Can he get some votes on the MVP ballot? It’s rare to see a player where the potential is so high, but that’s what the Brewers have in Chourio.
Can Garrett Mitchell stay healthy for a full season?
The start of Garrett Mitchell’s MLB career has been rough, to say the least. A shoulder injury kept him out for most of the 2023 season. Then, in spring training of this year, he fractured his left index finger and missed the first half of the season. When he returned on July 1, we finally got an extended look at Mitchell.
What we saw from him was good. In 69 games, he batted .255/.342/.469 with an OPS+ of 123. That also included eight home runs, 21 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and 33 runs scored. Of his 50 hits, 23 went for extra bases. Projecting that out to 500 plate appearances, that would be a season with 18 home runs, 47 RBI, 25 stolen bases, and 51 extra-base hits. He also had a 2.0 bWAR in his limited playing time.
All of that means that a healthy Mitchell would be a big boost to this Brewers lineup. Now, he just needs to keep it up through a full season. As Mitchell enters 2025, most of his pre-arbitration time has already been used up. He’ll be in his final year as a pre-arbitration player and will be heading into his first arbitration year in 2026. The Brewers need a good look at him this season so they can know how to approach his arbitration years, and Mitchell needs a good year if he wants to secure a good first arbitration salary.
Should the Brewers revisit the third base experiment with Sal Frelick?
One of the storylines entering the 2024 season was Sal Frelick working at third base. The Brewers did not have a set third baseman in spring training, and Frelick was in the mix since the Brewers outfield was just as crowded last year. However, when Mitchell injured his finger, Frelick was forced back into the outfield. That also gave Joey Ortiz a chance, and he stepped up and took control of the third base job.
As 2025 approaches, the early expectation is for Ortiz to slide over to shortstop, assuming the departure of Willy Adames. That will once again leave a gap at third base. The Brewers do not have an obvious answer there. While free agency could provide one, the class doesn’t look that good. Giving Frelick another chance at third base could fill that need, and the Brewers could look to a veteran utility player to provide some depth there.
However, taking Frelick out of the outfield would also be taking the Brewers’ best outfield defender away. He led the team with a 15.3 UZR/150 (ultimate zone rating standarized over 150 games). His 15 defensive runs saved was second to only Brice Turang and highest in the National League for outfielders. Taking Frelick away from the outfield now feels like it would be a detriment to the team.
Where does Blake Perkins fit into the mix?
In the Brewers mix of outfielders, Blake Perkins is the one name that doesn’t have the same hype as the others. That’s not a surprise, though. Yelich and Chourio are the stars of the outfield. Mitchell and Frelick were both high in the Brewers’ prospect rankings as they came up through the system. Perkins was a bit of a cast-off through the minors before he finally latched on in Milwaukee.
That doesn’t mean Perkins doesn’t have a spot on this team. Even though his numbers on offense weren’t too good, he was a good bat in the lineup against left-handed pitchers (.271 batting average). Where he provides value is on defense. Most of his 1.8 bWAR came from his value as a defender, and his bWAR was good for 12th on the team. His defense was good enough to earn him a spot as a finalist in center field for a Gold Glove. If Perkins is the fourth outfielder on the Brewers’ roster in 2025, that’s a good fourth outfielder to have.
The Brewers have five capable outfielders as they enter the 2025 season. All of them are in position to contribute in a meaningful way next season. The depth may have to be addressed at some point, especially if all five stay healthy and productive. However, that’s a good problem to have, and one that can be addressed later.