Brewers’ Christian Yelich Hits 10-Day IL With Back Strain
The injury bug has put a damper on Christian Yelich’s impressive start to the 2024 season as the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder lands on the injured list.
Yelich is set to miss time after being placed on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain, the club announced prior to Tuesday’s contest versus the San Diego Padres. The move is retroactive to April 13th, meaning he could return next week if fully recovered.
In a corresponding move, the Brewers recalled utility player Owen Miller from Triple-A Nashville. The 27-year-old hit five home runs and 27 RBIs across 90 games during his first season with Milwaukee in 2023.
Yelich exited Friday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles in the second inning after feeling lower back discomfort and hasn’t played since then.
The Brewers were hopeful giving Yelich the weekend off would allow him to avoid an IL stint. But after his back didn’t respond positively to the time off, the club decided it was best to provide him with as much recovery as needed to prevent further aggravation.
Since winning the 2018 NL MVP and finishing as the runner-up the following year, Yelich has dealt with back ailments the last few seasons, significantly hindering his offensive production prior to the 2023 campaign.
The two-time All-Star enjoyed a bounce-back performance at the plate last season, hitting .278/.370/.447 with 19 home runs, 76 RBIs and a 122 wRC+ over 144 games, worth 3.8 fWAR – the highest of his career since 2019. He also stole 28 bases, two shy of his career-best 30.
Yelich was off to a fantastic start this season, posting a team-high five home runs and 11 RBIs while slashing .333/.422/.744 over 11 games. He also earned a 205 wRC+, which leads all Brewers hitters and ranks sixth-highest among qualified big leaguers (min. 30 plate appearances).
Additionally, the three-time Silver Slugger has backed up his red-hot start with sparkling advanced metrics, as he’s positioned in the 90th percentile or higher in barrel rate (16.1%), xAVG (.346), xSLG (.672), xwOBA (.461) and max exit velocity (112.4 mph).
Thanks to Yelich’s remarkable showing, the Brewers’ offence sits near the top of the majors in several offensive categories, including runs per game (6.06), home runs (24), AVG (.284), OBP (.358), SLG (.460), wRC+ (125) and offensive WAR (21.7) – all of which rank top three or better.
Yelich, signed to a nine-year, $215-million contract that runs through 2028, has made 10 of his 11 starts in left field this season. Fellow left-hander Sal Frelick will likely occupy most of the reps at that position during his absence.
Despite trading ace Corbin Burnes to Baltimore during the offseason, seemingly marking the beginning of a sell-off, Milwaukee has won 10 of its first 16 games to lead a suddenly-competitive NL Central Division.
But with arguably their best slugger now unavailable, the Brewers will have to move forward through a stretch that’ll see them finish up with the Padres on Wednesday before hitting the road for consecutive series against division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.