GOOD NEWS: Milwaukee Brewers have Succeeded in Landing $105 Million contract With…
The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly reached a breakthrough agreement with their top prospect, 19-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio. According to several sources, the deal is worth $82 million over eight years, with two further club options that may increase the total term to ten years.
This is a historic transaction because Chourio, one of baseball’s best prospects, has yet to make his MLB debut. In actuality, he has only played six games with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds (and was the youngest player on any team at that level), having spent the first five and a half months of the 2023 season with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. Although he isn’t the first player to negotiate a contract extension before reaching the big leagues,
It will be the most lucrative contract ever awarded to a player who has yet to play an Milwaukee Brewersgame.Chourio has played professional baseball for over three years. In January 2021, the Brewers signed the Venezuelan native as an international free agent, paying him a signing bonus of approximately $2 million. Since then, he has demonstrated why the organization regarded him so highly. He hit nearly.300 in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and advanced through three minor-league levels in 2022, finishing with a hitting line of.288/.342/.538. In 2023, he hit.283/.338/.467 and improved his power and speed, hitting 22 home runs and swiping 44 bases, both career highs.
The Brewers do not lack outfield depth. There are presently eight outfielders on the 40-man roster. Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, and Sal Frelick are all 25 or younger, while Christian Yelich is in year five of a nine-year, $215 million contract. Still, offering Chourio this contract now suggests that the Brewers want him on their 2024 Opening Day roster and may be willing to trade some of their guys to make way for him.
Five more players signed contracts before appearing in a single major league game. Houston Astros first baseman Jon Singleton, Phillies infielder Scott Kingery, Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez, Mariners first baseman Evan White, and White Sox outfielder Luis
Robert, whose six-year, $50 million contract signed in January 2020, holds the current record for the highest contract extension given to a player with zero days of MLB service experience.
When Chourio’s deal is completed, he will become the sixth player on that exclusive list, and his extension will easily surpass Robert’s as the most lucrative.
According to Brewers beat reporter Curt Hogg, Chourio is already in the United States, having arrived last week to seal the agreement. If all goes as planned, he’ll hold a news conference with the Brewers before flying back home.