Brewers issue update on Jackson Chourio rehab timeline

Fans already knew Chourio was going to be out a while after Friday’s report, so this latest info isn’t surprising. It isn’t all that encouraging, either. It certainly suggests no expedited return schedule. Not to make assumptions, but the emphasis on the location of the damage versus evaluating its severity seems to indicate the Brewers are just hoping Chourio avoided a worse-case scenario.

In that case, caution would indeed be first in the order of operations. Only after ascertaining clarity there would it make sense to seriously estimate a recovery timetable. That he won’t be ready to immediately resume baseball workouts further points to a slow, methodical recovery process.

For however long he remains out, the lineup will miss him badly. Chourio’s 17 homeruns rank second on the team behind Christian Yelich, as do his 67 RBI. His .786 OPS leads the offense among qualified hitters. In 90 at bats in July, he hit .367/.408/.600.

The Brewers are resilient everywhere, but without one of their few genuine power threats and hottest bats, plus an everyday outfielder, they are courting a potential offensive slump. The most fans can hope from Chourio is that he returns fully healthy by the first week of September.

Until then, Blake Perkins and trade pickup Brandon Lockridge should see plenty of playing time while Yelich takes more reps in the outfield after getting most of his at-bats this season as the designated hitter.