The Milwaukee Brewers are four days away from beginning their 2025 MLB regular season with a three-game series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. While the official Opening Day roster has not yet been determined or released, there are several players that have been confirmed to have made the team.
Vinny Capra, for example, was informed on Sunday that he had made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his professional career. He celebrated by mashing his sixth home run of Spring Training, tying him for the Major League lead with teammate Rhys Hoskins and five others across baseball.
While there are still some roster questions remaining, the outfielders that Milwaukee will have to start 2025 are all but set in stone.
The Milwaukee Brewers Have a Talented Outfield
Based on Spring Training performances, play over the course of the last few seasons, and other contributing factors, the Brewers will enter 2025 with an outfield group consisting of Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick.
All four of these outfielders have had fantastic springs, and all were on the team last season. Chourio, of course, was the youngest player in MLB history to post a 20-20 season last year. He also finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Yelich is back after season-ending surgery ended his third All-Star season prematurely. Ideally, he would be appearing more as the team’s designated hitter; but that may not be possible right away for reasons discussed later. Mitchell is finally healthy again and Frelick won the Gold Glove in right field last year.
But there is one name from last season missing from this group.
Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Blake Perkins Has a Slow Rehab
Earlier this spring, centerfielder Blake Perkins, who played in 121 games last season while hitting .240/.316/.332, fractured his shin by fouling a ball off of his leg during batting practice. Obviously, after the injury happened, Milwaukee did not expect him to be ready for Opening Day.
However, his rehab is still taking longer than they expected it to:
Brewers OF Blake Perkins is trying to stay patient as his rehab from a shin fracture is going slow. He’s still at 30% of body weight on the assisted treadmill. Pat Murphy called it “a sneaky big injury for us” because of the domino effect in OF usage, including Christian Yelich.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 23, 2025
As McCalvy notes above, Perkins can only put 30% of his body weight on his leg right now.
Had he not gotten injured, Perkins would have certainly made the Opening Day roster, especially after having been a Gold Glove finalist in centerfield last year. Without him, Yelich will be appearing in the outfield more than the Brewers had originally planned.
That being said, Milwaukee must be comfortable with the players that they have. Frelick can play centerfield if Mitchell needs a day off, and Capra and Isaac Collins can also play in the outfield. So too can Jake Bauers, who appears poised to win the backup first baseman job behind Hoskins.
Still, Perkins’ defense is hard to replace. Hopefully his recovery goes well and he can get back on the field sooner rather than later.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Final Brewers Spring Training Notebook Before Start of 2025 MLB Season
- Brewers’ Jose Quintana Throws 37 Pitches; Will He Be Ready for Start of Season?
- Former Brewers OF Released By Astros; Searching for 6th Team in 7 Years
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