{"id":850150,"date":"2026-11-10T14:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/850150\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T14:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:27:13","slug":"guardians-toughest-pre-lockout-decision-stems-from-jaison-chourios-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/850150\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians\u2019 toughest pre-lockout decision stems from Jaison Chourio\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past five seasons, Jaison Chourio has slowly risen through the Guardians\u2019 minor league system. Although it hasn\u2019t been a linear journey, he\u2019s already risen to Triple-A despite being just 21 and seems poised to make his big league debut at some point during the 2027 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s pretty much a guarantee. As mentioned above, Chourio\u2019s now spent five seasons in the Guardians\u2019 minor league system, which means the Guardians are going to need to add him to their 40-man roster <\/a>at some point over the next two weeks to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s still a lot to unpacked with what\u2019s going to happen in this year\u2019s Rule 5 Draft due to the impending lockout, the Guardians are still going to need to make some kind of decision about Chourio\u2019s future soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Guardians need to add Jaison Chourio to their 40-man roster\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Chourio\u2019s status got an initial boost thanks to his big brother Jackson turning into one of the National League\u2019s best outfielders, he helped pave his own name thanks to a strong minor league performance that led to him opening the 2025 season as a consensus top-100 prospect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, his stock took a bit of a hit <\/a>that season due to a right shoulder strain that limited him to just 81 games split across Rookie Ball and High-A. He bounced back in 2026 <\/a>and finished the year with a .274\/.376\/.408 slashline with nine home runs, 56 RBI and 42 steals while also making his Double-A debut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jaison Chourio wasted no time \ud83d\udca3 pic.twitter.com\/P4SjL0EKYN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) April 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Which brings us to right now. Chourio is clearly one of the best hitting prospects in the Guardians’ system thanks to a unique blend of contact, speed and plate discipline, but he\u2019s likely still a year away from being able to make an everyday big league impact. That change means Chourio would need to take up a valuable spot on the Guardians\u2019 40-man roster while not really being an MLB option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Guardians have done that in the past (they had Jhonkensy Noel on their 40-man roster for two years <\/a>before he made his MLB debut), that hasn\u2019t really been their mode of operation as of late.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But they may not have a choice with Chourio given he\u2019d 100% get scooped up during the Rule 5 Draft by a rebuilding team who could stash him on their big league roster all season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though it should be easy for the Guardians to add Chourio to their 40-man roster since they have three open spots,<\/a> they also have some other must-protect prospects along with the incoming non-tender deadline. And that\u2019s to say nothing of the impending lockout that could change the fabric of MLB.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even if the Guardians adding Chourio to their 40-man roster won\u2019t fix all those problems, his high ceiling would make it worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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