The Timeline for Christian Yelich's Back Injury and How the Brewers Should Fill the Void

[Matthew Trueblood]

After a scorching start to his 2024 season, the Milwaukee Brewers' star left fielder suffered a low back strain that forced the team to put him on the injured list. How long until they'll be whole again?

Image courtesy of © Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

By all accounts, Christian Yelich is as frustrated as anyone. The Brewers' linchpin left-handed hitter and highest-paid player authored some gaudy numbers over the first fortnight of the season, promising a return to the robust, MVP-caliber production he gave them in 2018 and 2019--or at least a reprise of the All-Star-caliber stuff he did for the bulk of 2023. Yelich has battled nagging back trouble for years, though, and that happened again at a terrible time.

Yelich being sidelined has noticeably shortened the Brewers' lineup, which was the class of the league during their torrid 10-3 start. His absence coincides with a three-game losing streak that has brought Pat Murphy's team back down to Earth rather rudely, but it's not where they are now that has anyone worried. Instead, it's whether they'll rebound, or continue to sag and struggle without their slugging left fielder.

Not yet ready to burn Eric Haase or to entrust Tyler Black with regular-season at-bats at the highest level, the Crew turned to Owen Miller to fill Yelich's spot on the roster Tuesday. Miller might not be the long-term solution, but by selecting him now (when they could have opted to bring back Andruw Monasterio sooner than they're otherwise allowed to, because the need for a player was created by an IL placement), they're showing a modicum of faith in the versatile but light-hitting Wisconsin native. In Yelich's absence, it feels like the main playing time beneficiaries will be Blake Perkins and Joey Wiemer.

Expect those guys to be penciled into the lineup regularly for around a month. Similar injuries to other hitters (and to Yelich himself) at around this stage of the season in recent years have led to an average of four weeks on the shelf, with the median slightly (but perhaps misleadingly) lower.

Without Yelich in the field, the team will improve defensively--not because he's bad, per se, but because Wiemer and Perkins are very good defenders, who will now mix in with the equally estimable Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio. It's Yelich's offensive output that will be tough to replace.

Jake Bauers might be the first player given a chance to do so, but he's not the best. He had a double and an exceptionally hard-hit lineout Tuesday, but his strikeout rate remains deleteriously high, and he hasn't consistently generated the requisite power to overcome that. He's only hitting .199/.274/.404 since the start of 2023. 

Putting Wiemer and Perkins in the lineup will continue to push guys like Gary Sánchez, Willy Adames, and Bauers higher in it. Yelich will be replaced offensively in pieces--a few extra plate appearances for each of several good hitters, and a significant but smaller chunk than he was due to get diverted to defensive specialists.

The Brewers offense was already over its skis. Losing Yelich will accelerate their regression toward average, but it will also incrementally improve their run prevention. The Crew can survive the next month. They just need to mix and match wisely in their superstar's stead.

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[Trax]

They have the best PT's, punch docs and orthopedic guys in the world.  They must know exactly his issue with the back and why it reoccurs so often in such a young guy.  Obviously the core isn't the issue, that they can strengthen.  People decades older than he is have less trouble with a back that isn't perfect...

[Fear The Chorizo]

It's par for the course - key player gets injured, Brewers wait 4 extra games to IL him while playing shorthanded during that stretch that starts a bit of a skid, replace key offensive bat on the roster with a guy who happens to have a bunch of gloves in his bag but can't hit (Miller) and then insert a poor hitting 1B (Bauers) to the 3 spot in the lineup.

Sigh....

Specific to this article, they won't be able to fill the offensive void and I hope Yelich gets back in the lineup soon.  In my mind, the best thing to do would be to call up Black and insert him at 1B, keep Hoskins at DH (or play matchups with those two), and then lean on Chourio/Frelick/Perkins as on OF lineup.  Wiemer should be back down at AAA playing everyday.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

  Wiemer should be back down at AAA playing everyday.

Couldn't agree more with this. IMO Wiemer, at this stage in his career & with the mechanical changes he's going through, should be getting 4 ABs a day. The puzzle is the alternatives. He's no Mattingly with the stick but let's face it, Bauers has saved runs this season, and that becomes even more important with Yelich out of the lineup. As often as he's going to be at 1B, that leaves Hoskins with a healthy dose of DH duty, and I don't want Black up here sitting, anymore than Wiemer.