Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is having his best season in years, making his first All-Star team since 2019 and leading the National League with a .315 batting average and a .406 on-base percentage as of Wednesday.
The 32-year-old has been pivotal to the Brewers’ strong 58-43 start, which places them five games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
An ominous discussion this morning with Christian Yelich, who used different language than the typical day-to-day nature of his back flares. He said the next step is to decide “what’s going to be the best for the near future and into the future.”
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 24, 2024
Christian Yelich isn’t sure of specifics in terms of recovery or next steps but took a serious tone discussing his back injury this morning.
“I don't really want to get into like the specifics of it, but yeah, not great,” he said.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 24, 2024
However, Yelich’s resurgent 2024 season hit a major setback on Wednesday when he was placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back inflammation.
The three-time All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner left Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning after going 0-for-1 with two walks.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy responded with “Oh s–t” when asked about Yelich’s removal from the game. Murphy and Yelich discussed the injury before Wednesday’s game against Chicago, and both had a pessimistic outlook.
Yelich, a two-time NL batting champion, leads a young Milwaukee outfield featuring 20-year-old Jackson Chourio and 24-year-old Sal Frelick.
Young @CyrtHogg asked Pat Murphy if the Yelich setback could impact the Brewers’ Trade Deadline strategy and this was his response. pic.twitter.com/AhA7dZfkkr
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 24, 2024
Christian Yelich will see a spine specialist tomorrow to discuss next steps, including the possibility of season-ending back surgery. pic.twitter.com/crZq6A9KTi
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 24, 2024
Yelich’s slash line of .315/.406/.504 and .909 OPS are his best since his 2019 NL runner-up season. The former Gold Glove winner also won the 2018 NL MVP, leading the league in multiple categories.
As the longest-tenured Brewers position player, Yelich has been one of the team’s top hitters this year. In addition to his league-leading stats, he also leads the team in slugging percentage and OPS, and despite missing 28 games, ranks second in steals (21) and walks (40), and third in total bases (136).
If Yelich’s injury is as serious as feared, the Brewers could risk losing their lead in the division this summer.
