The Milwaukee Brewers made an emphatic Opening Day statement with a 14-2 win over the Chicago White Sox, but something was not right for first baseman Andrew Vaughn after the game.

Vaughn went 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI in his team’s big win to kick off the 2026 season, but he felt soreness in his hand afterward. By the middle of the night, he realized that it was worse.

It turned out that Vaughn had fractured his left hamate, a small, hooked wrist bone on the pinky side. The injury is common in baseball players and golfers, and Vaughn played in the Opening Day contest with the fracture having already occurred.

“I think it happened that first at- bat of Opening Day,” Vaughn said. “Got jammed. Felt it more in my right hand; everybody that's right-handed will tell you that. Went home that day, felt kind of fine; hand was a little sore.

“Woke up in the middle of the night and it was just barking,” he added. “I was like, ‘something's not right.’ Texted Brad, training staff, and I was like, ‘Hey, probably need to come in and get this looked at.’ Went and saw the doctor and got the scans done.”

Vaughn is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. It was an injury that Vaughn is surprised he was able to play through, and he expressed his disappointment in learning the news.

“Yeah, it stings,” Vaughn said. “Unfortunately, it's part of the game. Just trying to look at the positives, hopefully a quick recovery, and back out there with the boys, that's what I wanna do.”

Vaughn also learned that he is one of three players who the injury has happened to this season.

Those players include New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, and Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll. They all had the injury occur within a three-day span in February according to an article by McCalvy.

“Guys get back pretty quick from it, from what the surgeon told me,” Vaughn said. “It's a pretty simple procedure: go in, pop it out, set you back up and start recovering.”

In the meantime, Jake Bauers, who Vaughn refers to as “Rake” Bauers after the latter hit a home run in Milwaukee’s 14-2 win, will take over. 

“Man, he had an unbelievable spring,” Vaughn said. “First game, I mean, he hit a ball, I think, touched the roof of the stadium, went out, the boys are all in good hands.

“I mean, we had a great spring, and I'm definitely gonna miss being out there,” Vaughn added. “But I'm ready to get back out there with the boys, for sure.”

The Brewers also called up top prospect Jeferson Quero to supplement the lineup while Vaughn is out, according to McCalvy.

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