MILWAUKEE – Matt Arnold, president of baseball operations for the Milwaukee Brewers, said the back surgery Christian Yelich underwent Friday should allow the 2018 NL MVP to be ready for the start of the 2025 season.
“Hopefully by doing this earlier he can be ready for Opening Day next year,” Arnold said before the Brewers faced the Cleveland Guardians.
Arnold was asked if the three-time All-Star might be available at the start of spring training.
“That’s my understanding, but you never know how a back is going to turn out after the surgery he had,” Arnold said. “We’re optimistic he’ll be ready for opening day.”
Yelich, 32, was leading the NL in batting (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) in his 12th major league season when he was placed on the injured list in late July.
He hasn’t played since being ruled out of a Chicago Cubs game on July 23. Yelich has struggled with back problems for several years.
Arnold described Yelich’s procedure as “a type of discectomy,” without going into detail. A discectomy involves removing the damaged portion of a disc in the spine.
Yelich said in a video posted on social media Thursday that the surgery was “just the best option we really had left.” Dr. Brandon Rebholz performed the surgery in Milwaukee.
“There’s really no other way to say it than it sucks,” Yelich said. “It’s awful. But that’s part of the sport. Things like that happen. You get hurt, you get fixed and you get back on the floor. Try to stay as positive as you can.”
The Brewers are confident the surgery will have long-term benefits.
“He had to do that,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s got a long way to go in his career and I think this will clear some things up. It was obvious he’d had a back problem for a long time. It was inevitable that a swing like that with that much torque, the biomechanics could tell you, that physique, with his ability to turn and his flexibility in that area, it’s amazing he lasted 12 years.”
Yelich had his best season since his first two years with Milwaukee, when he was named NL MVP in 2018 and finished second in the 2019 MVP voting. He was named an All-Star for the third time this season and had 11 home runs, 42 RBIs and 21 steals in 73 games.
“I can tell you he was in a lot of pain,” Arnold said. “He had stabbing pains in his leg and his back and was trying like crazy to get back on his feet. He worked incredibly hard. Unfortunately, that process just didn’t work for him, so he decided to have the surgery.”
Yelich is a hitter with a career .287 average and 204 home runs in 12 seasons for Miami and Milwaukee.
Murphy said Yelich can help the Brewers with his presence in the locker room the rest of the season. Murphy has praised Yelich for his leadership throughout the year as the Brewers built the largest lead of any major league team in the division despite numerous injuries.
The Brewers entered the NL Central on Friday with a nine-game lead over Cincinnati and St. Louis.
“He has a close bond with so many players there because they respect his work and the way he does his job,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t force anything. He’s very genuine. He’s very authentic. He implements what he believes, but he has a genuine interest in young players. He has a genuine interest in playing the game the right way.”
