Christian Yelich is out for the season. The Brewers’ star outfielder announced (on X) that he’ll undergo surgery to address a back injury tomorrow. In a statement provided by the team, Yelich said he was hopeful of being 100% recovered for the 2025 season.
For the past month, it has been a near inevitability that Yelich was headed for surgery. He went on the 10-day injured list the week before the trade deadline after playing through lower back discomfort. Yelich visited a spine specialist and initially tried a non-surgical rehab that’d allow him to delay the procedure until the offseason. The hope was to get healthy enough to be able to contribute to the Brewers’ pennant push before more definitively addressing the problem at year’s end.
As Yelich explained today, the injury “wasn’t getting better” over the past few weeks. He added that he “ran out of options” that would allow him to make it back this season. The former MVP understandably expressed disappointment that he won’t be able to contribute on the field but indicated he’d remain around the team while they attempt to lock down a second consecutive NL Central title (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
It’s a tough end to what was shaping up as Yelich’s best season in a few years. He was utterly dominant during his first two years in Milwaukee, following up an MVP campaign in 2018 with a runner-up finish in ’19. Yelich paced the Senior Circuit in OPS both seasons. His production dropped sharply after that. From 2020-23, he was a solid but not elite hitter. Yelich remained a good player who appeared to be on the decline coming into this year, his age-32 season.
He completely flipped that script with a monster first half. Yelich raked at a .315/.406/.504 clip across 315 plate appearances. He homered 11 times and stole 21 bases while being thrown out just once. The three-time Silver Slugger Award winner cut his strikeout rate to 18.4%, the lowest of his Brewers tenure, while drawing walks at an excellent 12.4% clip. Even if he wasn’t quite back to an MVP level, Yelich was an easy call to start for the National League in the All-Star Game.
Among hitters with 300+ plate appearances, Yelich is fifth in average and fourth in on-base percentage. He’s within the top 20 in slugging output. His overall offensive production was 53 percentage points better than league average, as measured by wRC+. That’s quite comfortably tops on the team and 13th in the majors overall (with that 300 PA minimum). Yelich’s rate production sits between that of Rafael Devers and Ketel Marte.
Milwaukee isn’t going to be able to replace that kind of output. They were aware that Yelich might not make it back by the deadline. The front office reportedly sought a left-handed bat who could offer some punch against righty pitching but ultimately didn’t find a deal to their liking. Their deadline acquisitions ended up being exclusively on the pitching side, as they brought in Frankie Montas and reliever Nick Mears (in addition to their early-July pickup of Aaron Civale). The Montas trade actually sacrificed a bit of outfield depth since they sent Joey Wiemer to Cincinnati, though Wiemer wasn’t playing well enough in Triple-A to take on a meaningful role in Milwaukee.
Star rookie Jackson Chourio has moved to left field in Yelich’s absence. The 20-year-old is on a tear after a slow start to his debut campaign. Chourio has hit over .300 in each of the past three months. He’s hitting .274/.320/.441 on the season and has a massive .320/.368/.510 slash going back to June 1. Sal Frelick is having a decent year in right field, hitting .259/.333/.331 with above-average defensive grades. Former first-round pick Garrett Mitchell is back from injury to handle center field duties.
It’s still an extremely talented outfield, but any lineup would be much improved with Yelich in the middle of the order. The injury shouldn’t stop the Brewers from making the postseason. At 69-52, they’ve built a comfortable nine-game cushion in the NL Central. Milwaukee is in a tight battle for one of the top two seeds in the National League and the accompanying first-round bye. They’re a game and a half behind the Phillies and Dodgers, who are separated by percentage points for the NL’s best record.
Yelich remains a foundational piece for the Brew Crew in the long term. He’s under contract at $26MM annually for four seasons beyond this one. The team holds a $20MM option for the ’29 campaign. Yelich has dealt with intermittent back issues dating back to his first few seasons with the Marlins. The surgery will hopefully prevent that from being a major concern as he nears his mid-30s.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Oof
Does anyone ever fully recover from back surgery?
The back is the groin of the torso
I think I need to drink a martini to ponder this thought.
The Achilles groin back…..
Gobot, I mostly came here to tell whoever says that water is wet that water isn’t wet, it’s a liquid that makes things wet, and then you say that and completely blow my mind. Bravo!
Nope, and I had 2!
Having had 3 of them…yes.
LordD99,
My friend had back surgery, he’s not an athlete, but no he’s never been the same and he had his surgery when he was in his late 20s.
Normally Neurosurgeons won’t operate for only back pain. However, they may make exceptions for athletes I don’t know.
Usually the patient has to have pain down the leg or causing numbness somewhere for them to operate. Back surgery nowadays is really minimally invasive compared to years ago.
I Wish him well.
Jesse Winker
neck surgery
Career endung back surgery. Best of luck to him
Hate that name *grinds teeth* winker
I’m sad he was playing just like his Miami days
Good luck, that is a rough surgery for a ballplayer. I know many felled by ongoing back issues.
Best wishes for a full recovery.
Prudent! Move on for next year,while not holding out Hope for the Team to count on him this year. Gives time for the team to make some minor roaster adjustments. Good Luck, you are missed!
Minor roaster adjustments, like checking the rotisserie league and giving a few young players a cup of coffee.
Back in my playing days, coffee is what kept you going.
You young guys. It my day it was a hearty supply of Red Man.
maybe a greenie or two…
In my days, it was Big League Chew and mixing soda flavors at the snack bar.
I call it minor because the trade deadline has passed. You can only promote from within or pickup salary dumps. Anybody out there is not any better than our 3 young outfielders. However, we lack a backup with pancake house on the DL!
It went right over his head, like a flying toaster, er, toster.
Other minor roaster adjustments include switching rooms with Kramer and talking on the phone with Bob Sacamano
Can we start asking questions about his 2018 & 2019? Definite anomalies.
You mean his prime years of age 26-27 after averaging about 20 hrs the 2 years prior as a rising star, getting traded to a better hr park in the midst of the juiced ball era, adding a few degrees LA, playing on a really good team with lots of protection, all while maintaining the same physique and a great reputation, only to shatter his kneecap, spoiling a 2nd straight MVP season?
He still had 12 hrs and was on pace for 34 hrs in 2020. And then the back problems started, sapping all of his power and launch angle. He still battled back, slowly rebuilt his strength and slugging and was having an all star year slugging over .500 this year, before succumbing to degenerative back issues.
So, I would say no, asking whatever you’re implying would be really stupid.
You wrote this better than I could have. Was just gonna say those 18 and 19 teams were good. Cain, Aguilar, Braun, Shaw (missing some) but there was always guys on base and people behind him in the order that gave him protection (better pitches to hit)
Exactly. And im not sure why they mentioned decline when last season was a very good year and clearly better than the previous three. If anything hes been trending up since 2022.
Ok, bud. You’re a fan of the guy. We get it. No need trying to reason with you.
Ok, where’s the proof? What’s your reasoning? Anything besides you’re not a fan of his?
Well said MrSeptember.
Yelich road stats in 2018 and 2019
2018 – .328 AVG, 14 HR, 545% SLG, .944 OPS
2019 – .312 AVG, 17 HR, .597% SLG, 1,006 OPS
He would have been a great hitter those 2 years regardless of where he played.
The Milwaukee front office failed miserably at the deadline. Even before the yelich injury the team needed another bat. Another first round exit incoming
Scoring just under 6 runs per game since August 1st. In the fight for a first round bye. Try again.
Cheeseman drink the brewcrew cool-aid
He pointed out they’re massively in first and their offense is top notch, if they would’ve “added” at the deadline they’d have been hard pressed to acquire guys that would’ve provided more then the players they already have, maybe he did drink his teams “cool-aid” but your mom should’ve done a better job locking up the cleaning chemicals because idk what u drank, but it was a lot…..
NO! You do not give up prospects for salary dumps. if we failed, it was not picking up any front line Starting pitching. Hitting and defense is fine!
So glad I traded him in my fantasy baseball league. He’s a heck of a ball player when healthy, potentially even HOF material. Wish him a full recovery, and hopefully he comes back and crushes it
He already lost all of his power. I can’t imagine what he’s going to look like with a bad back.
Maybe he will become the next Ichiro and only hit singles.
? He was slugging .504 and was on pace for 25 hrs in 162 game season while going out with multiple back injuries this year. He’s had a bad back for years too. We know what he looks like…a pretty good ballplayer
On pace lol
Lost all his power, lol
5 hrs through April 10th. Went on IL for over a month with, you guessed it, back problems. Next hr, 5/29. Still had 11 in 73 games.19 last year. He’s not a slugger anymore but still had plenty of pop.
Hasn’t had 20 homers in a season since pre pandemic lol
I see, you’re a troll who moves the goal posts. The powerless player who was slugging. 504 this year and .447 last. Good analysis
11 homers and 12 doubles. lol
In 270 ab
He’s never going to be the same.
Too bad because Yelich was having a decent season. Guess it Chourio’s time to shine
Theyll still win the NL Central but to all those who think the Brewers have all these outfielders they can just plug in you can’t just plug in another Yelich. He’s not the kind of guy that’s holding up some star needing at bats to break out he is a star. Thats a tough bat to lose in the playoffs. He’s been their one cornerstone player these last handful of years
Chourio would disagree. Sucks for sure but it’s giving Mitchell consistent playing time to see what he’s finally all about. We’ve waited 2 years for him to stay healthy and now he’s getting his chance.
brewcrewfan82;
Brewers will continue to be contenders and in the playoffs for at least 4 of the next 5 years. Most of those young players will continue to get better with more experience, and players that don’t work out will be replaced by others that will (and that includes Adames leaving).
Position players are fine. Got to grow some starting pitchers. This administration did it before. They’ll do it again.
Smart front office. Solid manager. One of the better coaching staffs in MLB.
Well said!
Oh for sure. I wish they would hit on a first baseman too one of these years in the draft. Been a new face over there for the past decade.
Myers was a nice surprise this year. I think Misioroski could crack rotation next year or be the first guy up if there’s an injury. What will woodruff be? Exciting years ahead for sure.
The switch from David Stearns to Matt Arnold has brought a slew of corner infielders into the organization via the past two drafts. They should start hitting the majors next season. And keep an eye on Cooper Pratt, a very talented shortstop who is rising quickly through the minors. And don’t forget about elite catching prospect Jeferson Quero. The Brewers are just scratching the surface of an impressive youth movement.
Keep drinking the Brewer FO kool-aid.
Why isn’t Perkins the everyday CF for this club? Why is Frelick playing nearly everyday? Ridiculous!! Chourio, Perkins, Mitchell, with Frelick playing against an RHP occasionally with Yelich out!
“It’s not about talent, it’s about the people.”- Pat Murphy Continuing a Brewer tradition for the past 40+ years.
I hope Christian can make a full recovery and be the player he can be next year. Since my Cardinals are in a death spiral I have been pulling for the Brewers to show their grit.
Lots of people have had various procedures to correct back issues. I wish Yelich all the best and hope his surgery is successful
Not a slam dunk, because I’ve never met anyone who says, “Ya know, I used to have bad back.”.!.
Athlete having Back issues = DONE.
I hope not, but you might be right!
When he left Miami,I thought Milwaukee had landed the right Marlin, with many ASGs in his future. After a couple of years I was thinking he was maybe on the road to the Hall.
Now I’m back to wishing him well and hoping he might have an ASG or 2 to come.
Well said!
Worst 200 million dollar signing ever ….
Anthony Rendon
I dont think he’s close to the worst, hes still a top 60 player by WAR and WRC+ since start of 2020… but who knows if he can come back from this surgery