Brewers Facing Impending Decision on Outfielder Garrett Mitchell

We're officially in the final week of the Major League Baseball offseason, and for the Milwaukee Brewers, one of the most important plot points to follow is an injury recovery.

Garrett Mitchell projects to be the Brewers' everyday center fielder if he's healthy, but that's rarely been the case in the past. The 2020 first-round pick has never played more than 69 games in his four major league seasons.

Mitchell hoped he would be able to hit the ground running this season after returning from shoulder surgery in early July. He's been slowly ramping up his game workload in spring training, but as of Thursday, it's not yet entirely clear whether he'll be ready to go for the opener against the Chicago White Sox in one week's time.

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Brewers have backup plan ready if Mitchell can't go

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell catches a fly ball during spring training workouts Monday, February 16, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here was manager Pat Murphy's summary of where things stood with Mitchell on Thursday, as the Brewers prepared to give Mitchell enough plate appearances this week to make a decision about his availability.

“Basically, if we feel like Mitchell doesn’t have the ABs or isn't ready to go back-to-back or play every day, then maybe we make a different decision there,” Murphy said, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “But we all would know who that is. I mean, that would be pretty easy.”

Mitchell was just 2-for-21 in 25 spring plate appearances entering Thursday. In theory, the Brewers could give him more time to get right and tune up in Triple-A on a rehab stint if he keeps struggling.

Milwaukee has two outfielders competing for the No. 4 job if Mitchell, Jackson Chourio, and Sal Frelick are all healthy. Brandon Lockridge has had a good spring, giving Blake Perkins a run for his money. But if Mitchell starts the year on the injured list, both Lockridge and Perkins would make the team.

Jake Bauers could also see increased playing time in the outfield if Mitchell isn't ready to go. Whatever happens at the outset, it would be nice for the Brewers to have a bit more continuity than usual in the outfield this year, and Mitchell's health is paramount.