Venezuela center fielder Jackson Chourio, left, and second baseman Gleyber Torres take a break during batting practice before a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Japan on March 14 in Miami. Chourio plays for the Milwaukee Brewers and Torres for the Detroit Tigers. (AP file photo)

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers are opening their NL Central title defense without outfielder Jackson Chourio after he fractured his left hand during the preseason.

Chourio was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Wednesday. In the move announced hours before Milwaukee’s season opener with the Chicago White Sox, the Brewers estimated Chourio will miss two to four weeks.

“It’s rough, for sure,” Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “You want to be out there with them. … I’ll be out here supporting them as I always am. It’s a long season. I’m looking forward to being back soon with them and getting to play a big part of it.”

Chourio’s absence represents a major blow for Milwaukee’s lineup as the Brewers chase their fourth straight division championship. The 22-year-old recorded at least 20 homers and 20 steals in each of his first two major league seasons.

“He’s got a slight fracture in there, a hairline fracture,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “If you don’t address it, it could lead to something really serious, especially with the constant swinging and things like that.”

The injury first arose March 4 when Chourio got hit by a pitch from Washington’s Clayton Beeter while playing for Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic team in an exhibition game with the Nationals at West Palm Beach, Florida.

Chourio missed Venezuela’s first two World Baseball Classic games but returned to the lineup and helped his home country win the title. But after Chourio said a check swing this week in exhibition games with the Cincinnati Reds in Milwaukee “felt a little bit bothersome,” an MRI revealed a small hairline fracture at the base of the third metacarpal.

Chourio is coming off a 2025 season in which he batted .270 with a .308 on-base percentage, 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 21 steals in 131 games. The Brewers signed Chourio in December 2023 to an eight-year, $82 million contract, which represented the most money guaranteed to a player with no major league experience.

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