MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 4, 2023

Cesar Suarez

Matt Arnold

Jackson Chourio

Milwaukee Brewers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for coming. Today the Milwaukee Brewers are pleased to announce the signing of 19-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio to an eight-year contract through 2031 with club options for 2032 and '33, an industry record commitment for a player without Major League experience.

Joining us today is General Manager Matt Arnold; Jackson Chourio, of course; Jackson's agent, Cesar Suarez; and translating for us today from Major League Baseball Ramon Luciano.

With that, I will turn it over to Matt.

MATT ARNOLD: Thank you, Mike. Appreciate you guys joining us. Thank you very much for being here. Today is a very exciting day. First, I want to thank, obviously, Jackson for being here and his commitment to the Brewers.

I would like to thank Cesar for his incredible partnership in this journey and everyone at Beverly Hills Sports Council for their work.

I certainly want to thank our ownership group, Mark Attanasio and his family, for their incredible support throughout this process as well.

Look, any time you make an investment in a player like this, you've got to invest in special people. As we've worked through this from day one -- we have several of the scouts here that were responsible for signing Jackson, and they loved him from day one. Then you start thinking about all of the coaches that have been involved with this, and they've loved him throughout this entire process.

As Jackson ascended through our system, we recognized that he had met and exceeded every single challenge that we put in front of him. When you make investments like this, it's important to invest in people. It's important to invest in talent. It's important to invest in work habits, and it's important to invest in character. And we believe that Jackson checks all those boxes.

So I'm very proud and excited to announce a long-term agreement here with Jackson Chourio and the Milwaukee Brewers.

THE MODERATOR: We're going to take questions for anyone up on our panel over here.

Q. Matt, just a quick question here. What's your track now with this young man moving up through the minor league system to the Major Leagues? How fast do you see that happening? Do you look at Corbin Carroll and his progress so quickly with Arizona as kind of a template?

MATT ARNOLD: I think that's an interesting template for us to follow. Look, I think Jackson will determine his progress at his own pace. He's somebody that has obviously moved very quickly at a very young age, and like I said earlier, he's met every challenge. So we're excited to see his growth continue at the pace that he's ready to move.

Q. Can you tell us your perspective on this when they first raised this idea with you, the pros and cons of signing something long-term now versus seeing what happens in your career and making those decision later?

JACKSON CHOURIO: This is something that is a blessing for me. This is not something that you don't see every day. This is a great opportunity for me, and I want to take advantage of it and enjoy every day of it.

Q. This is a huge challenge for you. How do you see -- for younger Latin American players, how do you see yourself in this? How do you take this?

JACKSON CHOURIO: I'm grateful for this opportunity. I will treat this with respect, and I'm definitely going to meet the expectations and enjoy the game taking it with respect.

Q. Matt, just wanted to ask you if you could lay out the timeline of how this all came about. How quickly? When did you first approach Jackson? How did it all take place?

MATT ARNOLD: It's taken a lot of time, honestly, and a lot of people involved. Matt Klentak from our office, obviously, did the lion's share of work from our side. Obviously Cesar and his incredible partnership in this process. It took months and it took a lot of work. It took a lot of give and take from everybody involved.

That's why we're here today. It's an exciting partnership. When you are able to -- everybody come to a spot where everyone is in agreement, it's a really exciting day for us.

Q. Jackson, we've talked a lot with you about pressure and expectations of how quickly that happened for you. Does this change anything now getting this kind of commitment for the team of how you want to work and the player you want to be?

JACKSON CHOURIO: Basically, yeah, there's definitely a little bit of pressure on this, but I'm just going to work really hard, take the best of him on the field. This money is not going to change me. If something changes, it definitely will be for the better.

Q. Cesar, could you please address that? You've known Jackson for almost half his life. How do you think he will handle what comes next?

CESAR SUAREZ: Well, Jackson, like you said, I met him very young, and he was in the Academy before he signed. Like Matt said, every challenge that we presented to him, he always excelled. It's something that I think he's going to continue to do at the hardest level of baseball. But I feel that he's going to be able to manage it because every time that we put a challenge on him, he has always excelled.

It's something I've of seen since he was 12 years old. I don't think it's going to change. I'm pretty fortunate to see him doing this, and I think he's going to continue to do it.

Q. Jackson, just following up on my earlier question to Matt. How long do you think it will take you to get to the Major Leagues?

JACKSON CHOURIO: Well, right now we are working really hard to be there on opening day.

Q. Jackson, this is a big day for you and your family. Who are the people that you think about that helped you get here and accomplish this and hopefully continue supporting you?

JACKSON CHOURIO: Definitely my family, big one there. My agent, Cesar Suarez. I don't have a lot of friends, but the couple of friends I have, they're really good friends who always support him. They will be there for me through the whole process.

Q. Jackson, last year the Brewers had a number of first-year players that contributed to the division championship, guys who I presume you know from your time in the organization. I know you were around the team briefly late in the season when you came in. How much did seeing that and the role that the young players played make you think that this is the right organization for you to commit to?

JACKSON CHOURIO: I've talked to all of those players, and I have a really good relationship with them, but I understand that this decision was mostly because -- it's definitely to secure his future, and now I can play easy. I can play without that pressure and definitely bring the best to the field.

Q. Matt, I know these things tend to work themselves out in time, but how do you view the wealth of depth that you have now in the outfield?

MATT ARNOLD: Yeah, we certainly feel like it's a good problem to have. We have a lot of talented outfielders. Jackson is certainly one of those.

But as you know, we've churned through a lot of our depth. We had multiple injuries on the same day last year, so things like that send to work themselves out.

Q. You are pretty close to your family. What's the lessons you take from them for baseball?

JACKSON CHOURIO: I want to be an example for my little brothers. My father was kind of overprotective, but he was doing this because he wants them to grow up fine and to be fine. That's it. I want to be an example for them.

Q. Jackson, you've gotten a chance to play winter ball in Venezuela. I'm wondering if the reaction at home has been any different for you returning home and playing there and if this changes things for you at home in Venezuela?

JACKSON CHOURIO: I'm blessed. I always went to winter league games to watch the games. It's a blessing for me to be able to play there. I just want to be grateful for this opportunity, for this moment, and definitely looking forward to more of that.

Q. We've seen teams across the league do deals similar to this one -- this is a little bit different considering he hasn't played in the majors yet -- but signing players early on in the process to extensions. Why are deals like this something that clubs -- yourself and others -- have decided are advantageous or good for you guys to do to shore up players for the long-term like this?

MATT ARNOLD: I think in situations like this, it's important that it's a good deal for everybody. I think back on the time when we first originally signed Jackson and all the people involved and how incredible this guy is and how important this day is to him.

It's not just about us. It's about him as well and securing his future. You know, partnering together with somebody that is really special. And so when you have an agreement like that, it's a great day for everybody involved.

Q. Jackson, what next? There's a couple months before the season begins again. Now that this is done, how are you going to spend it?

JACKSON CHOURIO: Work harder. Work double. Work on my body. Work on all the details that can make me a better player.

THE MODERATOR: Jackson, congratulations. We look forward to many, many years of you in a Brewers uniform. Thank you all for coming, and have a great day.