After Chourio (hamstring) heads to IL, newcomer Lockridge ready to fill in

WASHINGTON -- The Brewers placed outfielder Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list prior to their series opener vs. the Nationals on Friday, after the 21-year-old strained his right hamstring legging out a triple in Tuesday’s win to the Cubs. The club added outfielder Brandon Lockridge -- who was acquired from the Padres in the first of Milwaukee’s two trades on Thursday -- to the active roster.

Per manager Pat Murphy, Chourio has had a PRP injection to help the hamstring heal. Murphy also hinted that Chourio could be out for at least a month, if not longer, as the hamstring strain is more severe than at first though -- though Murphy did not have a definitive timeline for Chourio’s return.

Chourio, who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year Award balloting last season as a 20-year-old, has followed up by producing nearly identical numbers this season, including a wRC+ (118) and an OPS+ (119) that match last year.

He’s played a lot of center field this season while Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins spent time on the IL, but Perkins recently returned to action. The Brewers will cover Chourio’s absence with Sal Frelick, Perkins, rookie Isaac Collins (.857 OPS in his last 40 games) and Lockridge.

Eager to see their new outfielder in action, the Crew slotted Lockridge into the starting lineup at leadoff -- a spot in which he hit frequently in the Minors, but hasn’t yet in his big league career.

The Brewers sent left-hander Nestor Cortes and cash along with 18-year-old infielder Jorge Quintana (who signed with the Brewers in the same international class as top prospects Jesus Made and Luis Peña -- and got a higher bonus than either at $1.7 million) in exchange for Lockridge. He spent the first three months of the season in the Majors before being optioned in late June to Triple-A El Paso, where he was hitting .291/.408/.468 with seven stolen bases in 21 games. In the Majors, Lockridge has batted .210/.248/.280 in 100 at-bats over the last two seasons.

Cortes, acquired last winter along with Durbin in the trade that sent All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, made only two starts with Milwaukee before going down with a left forearm injury that dates back to last year. He was just completing his comeback as the Trade Deadline neared, but found himself far down the depth chart in light of Quinn Priester’s emergence and the ascent of Jacob Misiorowski.

Lockridge is no stranger to some of his new Brewers teammates -- he was in the same Draft class as Anthony Seigler in 2018, when they were taken in the fifth and first rounds, respectively, by the Yankees. He crossed paths with Perkins in New York’s farm system, and was roommates with Caleb Durbin last year, prior to Lockridge’s acquisition by San Diego.

“When you see the assistant GM’s number pop up on your phone, it's either, you know, a good thing or a bad thing,” Lockridge said pregame. “So, you know, once I found out it was a trade and I heard it was the Brewers -- I got quite a few buddies on this team that I played with in the Minor Leagues. So to get to play with these guys in the big leagues is a pretty cool experience.”

Both Perkins and Murphy agree that Lockridge seems like a perfect fit with the culture of the Crew. He knows his strong suits -- “I like to consider myself aggressive, try to be an athlete in every part of my game, whether that's defensively, on the bases, [causing] havoc” -- and he is confident in what he can add to the team. And he sees himself as a perfect fit.

“It's just a scrappy team,” Lockridge said. “It's one of those teams that, you look up and if you're not careful, they're going to, you know, ‘kick your teeth in,’ kind of deal. So to be on that team and be a part of that, it's a pretty cool. …

“I feel like coming to the Brewers is one of the best fits, you know, just as a player, looking from outside in to organizations -- it's the way they play the game. I feel like it really matches my type of play. It's just a really cool fit.”