The Milwaukee Brewers are hoping to build on the momentum they had from last season after a great regular season that led to a wildcard finish. However, they have a Christian Yelich problem.
No, it is not his back that is still not fully recovered. It is his contract.
Yelich’s season ended abruptly on August and that was a shame because he was matching his output in the 2018 and 2019 seasons when he became an All-Star and won his first MVP. The team thought they can put off subjecting him to surgery but he was eventually shut down for the season by September while on the 60-day injured list.
Brewers have a chance to do better this year but they have to work around his contract deemed by Bleacher Report as the 8th worst in the league.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter wrote:
His production cratered during the shortened 2020 season, and he tallied just 4.3 WAR over the first three seasons of that shiny new contract, but he has returned to being an impact offensive player the last two years. The 32-year-old was an All-Star this past season for the first time since 2019, hitting .315/.406/.504 for a 151 OPS+ in 315 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending back surgery in August.
For a team like the Brewers on a tight budget, having Yelich account for more than 30 percent of their $70.8 million payroll in 2024 was simply too big of a piece of the pie. That will continue to be the case in the coming years.
Yelich is now on the fourth year of the nine-year, $215 million contract extension he signed in 2020.
RICK WOOD/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
Mjs Brewers Brewers20 1 Brewers20
He hasn’t been the same since his All-Star years although he proved last season that he couod still get it done, as he was named to All-Star team before getting shut down.
Brewers 2025 plans and Christian Yelich’s recovery timeline
Major changes are already happening in Milwaukee as the team traded All-Star Corbin Burnes.
They also signed former New York Mets pitcher Vinny Nittoli in September.
Changes are happening but what they are patient about is Yelich.
The team is hopeful that the 30-year-old left fielder will recover and get back to his old play.
Yelich himself is also not worried about his performance once he gets back from the back surgery.
“I think everybody sees ‘back surgery’ and they think, ‘Oh, that’s the end of your career,’” he said back in August.
“But in my mind, that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. I think that it’s going to help me tremendously. I think I’ll feel a lot better than I have in the last few years.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow us @WiSportsHeroics for the latest and trending news about Packers, Brewers, Bucks, Marquette, and the rest of Wisconsin Sports. Stay updated by reading more of our Wisconsin Sports articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!
