Christian Yelich lands on IL with back injury, but not expected to get surgery: How Brewers can replace him

The NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers will be without All-Star Christian Yelich for the foreseeable future. Yelich was placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back inflammation, the team announced Wednesday. He exited Tuesday’s game after his back flared up. 

Yelich saw a spine specialist on Thursday to discuss the next steps, and according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy Yeloch has opted to attempt the non-surgical path to recovery. Season-ending surgery had been an option. McCalvy writes: 

There’s optimism, the source said, that this IL stint will be shorter than the one earlier this season. But back injuries offer no guarantees, and offseason surgery remains a possibility.

That earlier IL stint, the result of a strained lower back, lasted from April 16 through May 8. 

“Everybody plays through stuff but sometimes you just can’t. That’s kind of where we’re at, at this point,” Yelich said Wednesday (via MLB.com). “Your body won’t cooperate with you. For me, aside from when I broke my knee, this has been the one thing that I’ve had to deal with. It’s frustrating. I’ve dealt with it a lot during my career. I feel like it’s kind of affected me in a negative way at times. I’ve been able to play at a high level but it’s one of those things that’s held me back a little, so that’s where it’s frustrating. What are you going to do? But also, though, there’s a potential that I can finally get on the other of side of this, finally, when all is said and done. We’ll see. It remains to be seen, I guess.” 

Yelich, 32, has a history of back injuries and every so often misses a game or two when it flares up. He has gone on the injured list with a back issue six times in his major-league career, including four times since 2021. That does not include all the nagging day-to-day back trouble that pops up each year. 

Last week, Yelich started the All-Star Game in right field. He got two at-bats and playing five innings in the field. Otherwise he has started each of his last seven games with the Brewers at DH, and he’s been out of the lineup entirely twice in the last six games. It seems clear the Brewers and Yelich have been managing a nagging issue, which isn’t at all uncommon for a veteran player in late July, but that management doesn’t appear to have worked.

The Brewers activated Gary Sánchez off the injured list as the corresponding move for Yelich on Wednesday — he’d been out since June 23 with a calf strain — and they are now carrying three catchers: Sánchez, William Contreras, and Eric Haase. They figure to rotate their catchers through the DH slot during Yelich’s absence. Contreras will play just about every single game either at catcher or DH. Sánchez and Haase will fill in the gaps. 

For Milwaukee, losing Yelich means losing their best left-handed bat. Lefties Jake Bauers (97 OPS+), Sal Frelick (93 OPS+), and Brice Turang (98 OPS+) are all having league average-ish seasons at the plate, both against righties and overall. Mitchell returned from a broken finger earlier this month and could contribute more once he settles in at the plate. 

Yelich is no longer the MVP-caliber hitter he was from 2018-19, but he remains very productive: .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs and 21 steals in 22 attempts this season. That works out to a 153 OPS+, a top-five mark in the National League. For all intents and purposes, Yelich is irreplaceable, and now the Brewers will be without him for an unknown length of time.

Of course, the trade deadline is coming up on July 30, and the Brewers could look to add a lefty bat in the event Yelich will miss significant time. Miami Marlins second baseman/center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., No. 13 on our list of trade candidates, could be of interest. More likely, the Brewers would aim lower, perhaps at a rental like Chisholm’s Marlins teammate Josh Bell.

The good news is the Brewers are 59-43 and have a six-game lead atop the division and a 5 1/2-game lead on a wild-card spot. There is still a lot of season to be played and Milwaukee hasn’t clinched anything yet, but they’ve built up some cushion, and are better positioned to weather an injury to an important player than a team further down the standings.