The Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an 8 year, $82M contract with 19 year old center fielder Jackson Chourio, the club announced.
When club options and escalators are factored in, the deal could rise to as much as $142.5M, guaranteeing Chourio more money than any player prior to making their major league debut in the history of the sport.
Originally signed as a 16 year old, Chourio ascended the top prospects lists after hitting .280/.336/.467 with 22 home runs in 2023. The Venezuelan spent most of last year with the AA Biloxi Shuckers in the Southern League, making 559 plate appearances with the club.
With the deal now in place, it increases the likelihood of Chourio breaking camp with the Brewers in the spring, adding to a roster that won 92 games and captured an NL Central crown this past season. It does however add some intrigue to Milwaukee’s offseason as they currently sport 8 outfielders on their 40 man roster, meaning one or more of their current players could be dealt this offseason.
Only Jon Singleton, Scott Kingery, Eloy Jimenez, Evan White and Luis Robert had received a multi-year contract before making their MLB debut. Prior to Chourio’s record setting deal, Robert’s 6 year, $50M contract stood as the richest pre-MLB contract doled out by a club.
Scouts project Chourio as a possible 30/30 player, with plus defense at the center field position. That rare combination of power and speed would make him a bargain on his new contract, but it remains to be seen how quickly the youngster will adjust to the major league level. To date, he’s played only 6 games above the AA level.
A press conference is expected to be held by Milwaukee early this week. There, additional details around the contract structure will likely be revealed, though it’s currently speculated that Chourio’s deal will be back loaded to include the “big money” years after Christian Yelich’s 7 year, $188.5M deal are through.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: NatureBoy MD. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.