The Brewers announced that both outfielder Jackson Chourio and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In corresponding moves, outfielder Blake Perkins has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville and infielder/outfielder Greg Jones has been designated for assignment.
The returns of Chourio and Vaughn should provide a sizable boost to a Brewers lineup that has relied heavily on complementary pieces in recent weeks. Milwaukee has a pair of 13-run outbursts in its past 11 games but has also been held to four or fewer runs seven times in that span. Much of the recent uptick in offense came against a D-backs staff that’s been struggling enormously over the past few weeks.
Chourio, 22, has missed the whole seasons thus far after suffering a fractured hand during exhibition play this spring. He went 1-for-9 with three walks in a brief three-game minor league rehab stint. The Brewers are hoping that the dynamic outfielder can recreate something close to — ideally better than — his career .272/.316/.463 slash (115 wRC+) with only minimal rehab work.
Similarly, Vaughn notched only one hit in three rehab games before his reinstatement. The former No. 3 overall pick enjoyed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent memory last year after going from Chicago to Milwaukee in a trade. Vaughn arrived in the Brewers organization with a career .248/.303/.407 batting line but erupted with a .308/.375/.493 batting line in 64 games down the stretch. He belted nine homers in 254 trips to the plate — then tacked on another two postseason taters in 30 plate appearances. Vaughn posted an outrageous .367/.436/.612 line in 55 spring plate appearances before incurring a hamate fracture that required surgery.
Jones went 2-for-21 in his brief time with the Brewers. He drew one walk, stole a base and struck out nine times in 22 plate appearances (40.9%). The 2019 first-rounder (Rays) only had 30 big league plate appearances to his credit. He’s spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where he’s a .262/.344/.438 hitter. Jones was drafted as a shortstop but has worked primarily as an outfielder in recent seasons. He has top-of-the-scale speed but marginal power and a bottom-of-the-scale hit tool that’s regularly produced strikeout rates north of 33% in Triple-A.
The Brewers will have five days to trade Jones, release him or place him on outright waivers. Outright waivers would be another 48-hour process, meaning Jones’ DFA will be resolved within a week’s time. He doesn’t have three years of major league service and has never cleared waivers before, so if he goes unclaimed this time around, he’ll be assigned outright to Nashville. He’d no longer count against the 40-man roster but would remain in the organization.
