A former Biloxi Shucker has signed the largest deal in history for a player with no major league experience.
Outfielder Jackson Chourio agreed to an eight-year, $82 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. The 19-year-old has only played in six games above the Double-A level after 122 games with the Shuckers in 2023.
During his time in Biloxi, Chourio batted .280 with 22 homers, 89 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases across 122 games. After being called up to Triple-A Nashville, the Venezuela native hit .333 with two RBIs and one strikeout across 21 at-bats.
The decision to make Chourio the highest-paid player yet to make a big-league debut comes as Pat Murphy is beginning his first season as manager. Coming off an NL Central title with lots of help from young players, the Brewers are looking to win the division in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-82. They are one of five current teams that have never won the World Series.
“You win championships with people,” Murphy said during his introductory press conference last month. “We want to get the players to play at the high end of their value. That creates a culture of responsibility. That creates a culture of ‘Hey, the expectation is to win.'”
While Chourio could start the 2024 season in the minors, he is expected to move up to Milwaukee very soon as he is the only prospect in franchise history to be selected as the organization’s minor league player of the year twice.
Chourio’s contract breaks the record set by Luis Robert when he signed with the Chicago White Sox for $50 million over six years. Robert’s agreement was announced in January 2020, and he made his MLB debut in July of that year.
