Last season, the Brewers used Jackson Chourio in center field most of the time, and Isaac Collins emerged as the team’s regular left fielder. Rather than running that back, though, they dealt Collins to Kansas City this winter, and Chourio will be back in the corner outfield mix for 2026. Who else will factor in prominently? Let’s break it down.

The Starters

Milwaukee prioritizes fielding an excellent defense. Nowhere is that clearer than in the corner outfield spots. Frelick and Chourio are solid center fielders, but as they’ve established themselves in the majors, they’ve moved to the corners.

Chourio is a franchise cornerstone. The massive eight-year, $82-million contract (with two team options) he signed before 2024 made that abundantly clear. He’s posted two straight 20-20 seasons, and he still hasn’t hit his peak yet.

Frelick is a Gold Glove-caliber right fielder who could start in center for about two dozen other major-league clubs. While he lacks the traditional power of a corner outfielder, some power did emerge in 2025. Frelick is simply a solid all-around player who can add speed and defense to his impressive bat control.

The Major-League Backups

Yes, you saw the header right: backups, plural. Bauers will get most of his playing time by dividing chances with Andrew Vaughn at the cold corner, but he made an offensive leap in 2025. If it holds up in 2026, he can keep Frelick and Chourio fresh, especially if his bat is on a hot streak like the one he had late in the 2025 season.

Lockridge was acquired when the Brewers moved on from Nestor Cortes, making him an indirect return from the Devin Williams trade. He’s beaten out Blake Perkins for an Opening Day roster spot based on a red-hot spring training. If it carries over into the regular season, it will be the second time the Brewers have generated a massive secondary return on trading a closer—the first being when Esteury Ruiz, who had been acquired in the Josh Hader trade, went to the Athletics in a three-team deal that brought William Contreras to Milwaukee—under Matt Arnold. He’ll also play a good amount of center field, but he’s available to slide to the corners as needed.

Other 40-Man Roster Options

The Brewers’ corner outfield group is so deep that both a former MVP and a former MLB Top-100 prospect are on the outside looking in for playing time. Yelich is still an outfielder, the organization insists, and has played there twice this spring, but he went nearly two months between appearances in the outfield two different times last year. Black is a solid hitter, if his power surge this spring is for real. The rest of these options are emergency-only—not because they can’t be good, but because the team has considerably better options and/or would rather play those guys elsewhere.

Overview
Having so many center field-capable athletes in the mix to play in the corners is an extraordinary luxury—one of several the Brewers have afforded themselves of late. The team doesn’t have one or two clear-cut candidates for each position, but that just serves to insulate them against injuries and maintain opportunities for players who break out unexpectedly.