Christian Yelich Hits The Injured List Again, Possibly Needs Season-Ending Surgery
Going into the All-Star Break things were about as good as it could get for Christian Yelich and the Brewers.
Not only was Yelich starting in right field for the National League, but his hot bat also helped fuel the Brewers to a 55-42 record in the first half of the season. Yelich has been consistently raking all season, leading the NL in batting average with .315. When he’s in the lineup, he’s making a difference. The key to that, though, is him being in the lineup.
Earlier this season Yelich spent about three weeks on the injured list due to a back injury flare-up he’s dealt with over the past couple of years. The stint on the IL blockaded the impressive start Yelich was having, slashing .333/.422/.744 in the first 11 games of the season. On May 8 Yelich returned to the lineup, but it remained unknown if the back issues would have any lasting impact. It quickly became clear they did not.
Yelich came back from an already-strong start and took another leap forward. Having a .909 OPS and 11 home runs, Yelich’s back issues appeared not to be an issue. That may have been true for the past two months, but clearly the problems lingered because Yelich is once again battling them.
This time, it seems to be even more serious.
In the Brewers’ four games since the All-Star Break Yelich has struggled, going 0-for-9. It’s such a small sample size that there wouldn’t be anything to panic about if that was the extent of the problem. When Yelich was pulled in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game it became clear that the extent of the problem went beyond the hitless stretch.
Back in April when Yelich went on the 10-day IL he explained that he spoke up as soon as he felt something instead of trying to play through the pain and perpetuate the problem. That strategy seemed to work, as Yelich returned after missing 23 games and came out swinging.
That may have prevented a longer-term issue early in the season, but this time there may not be any way to avoid that. On Thursday he will meet with a back specialist to discuss different options, one of which is a season-ending operation.
Whether Yelich is out for three weeks just like in April, or if he’s out for the rest of the year, it’s quite the blow for the Brewers.
In Yelich’s earlier absence the Brewers clearly missed his bat, going 12-11 in that 23 game stretch. By no means is a record over .500 bad, but for a team playing at the Brewers level, it leaves more to be desired. For reference, the Brewers were 9-3 before Yelich went down.
Now there’s a sense of deja vu for the Brewers. Once again they will have to find runs without the help of Yelich, at least for the near future. With the Brewers sitting at 59-43 with a six game lead over the Cardinals, they do have a little bit of wiggle room.
Last time Yelich went on the 10-day IL he remained inactive for 25 days. Hopefully the Brewers can get him back in a similar time frame once again and avoid the season-ending surgery. Earlier this season the Brewers managed to stay afloat in Yelich’s absence, and now they’ll be tasked with that once again.
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