The 2024 season has come to an unfortunate and premature end for Christian Yelich, as the Milwaukee Brewers All-Star outfielder will undergo surgery on his ailing back on Friday. As a result, he will not return to the team this season.
Yelich made the announcement on social media Thursday afternoon, hours after his teammates rallied for a 6-4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers at American Family Field.
An update I was hoping to avoid. Be back stronger. @Brewers pic.twitter.com/HWT0OOiJVo
— Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) August 15, 2024
Christian Yelich Needs Back Surgery, Out for Season
“It just got to the point where it wasn’t getting better,” Yelich said. “I tried everything I could. I ran out of options and it came time to make a decision. Ultimately, I felt it was in the best interest of myself and the Brewers to have surgery with the expectation of being back at 100 percent for next season. ”
The 10-year veteran has been sidelined since July 24, when he landed on the injured list because of issues with his lower back. The same issues led to a month-long IL stint earlier this season, but since returning to action on May 8, Yelich looked much more like the player who won the National League MVP award in 2018 — and might have repeated in 2019 were it not for a freak, season-ending knee injury.
Yelich went 0-for-5 his first game back, but slashed .324/.410/.482 with six home runs, 30 RBI, and 19 stolen bases as well as a .892 OPS over his next 59 games and went into the All-Star break with a .933 OPS and an NL-best .326 batting average.
Resurgent Season Cut Short
His back, though, had started to flare up late in the first half, and after going 0-for-9 in his first three games out of the break, the Brewers made the decision to put Yelich on the IL.
At the time, he acknowledged that surgery was likely inevitable at some point but was optimistic that rest and rehab would get him back on the field to close out the season and lead the Brewers into the playoffs.
Christian Yelich will undergo season-ending back surgery tomorrow in Milwaukee, performed by Dr. Brandon Rebholz. https://t.co/SiHT1jrDpJ pic.twitter.com/YsXlAz54QY
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 15, 2024
“We have a very special team here and it will be disappointing to not be able to contribute down the stretch,” Yelich said. “However, I have the utmost confidence in my teammates and will be cheering them on with all of you, the great fans of Milwaukee.”
Yelich will undergo the procedure Friday morning at a Milwaukee-area hospital. The team expects he’ll recover fully by the time the Brewers open spring training in Phoenix next February.
Photo Credit: © Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports
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