How Do The Brewers Replace Christian Yelich If His Season Is Over?
The news about Christian Yelich’s back injury doesn’t sound good. The possibility of season-ending surgery has been mentioned, and should that happen, the Brewers would have a gaping hole in their lineup. They would need a consistent middle-of-the-lineup hitter with power. Where can they find one?
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The best possible news for the Brewers would be for Christian Yelich to finally fix his long-term, nagging back issue, while still returning in time for September and/or October (assuming the Brewers reach the postseason). From Yelich’s quotes, however, it sounds like season-ending surgery is very much on the table, in which case the question turns to whether the Brewers’ outfield and DH mix is sufficient for a team hoping to win a World Series.
In the immediate future, in either case, there are likely to be more plate appearances for Jake Bauers, while the young quarter of Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio roam the outfield grass and provide what should be elite defense. The problem is that Chourio is the only one you’d want at the plate in a big moment right now; there are substantial question marks over the other three. Frelick has been better in the last month, but still struggles to pose any extra-base threat. Mitchell is still hitting ground balls and whiffing a lot, while Perkins has a high strikeout rate and provides fairly minimal extra-base power, as well.
Even taking into account the lack of form from some of the Brewers’ streakier power hitters (which has resulted in the Brewers ranking 27th in home runs and 30th in doubles since Jun. 1), the lineup needs more thump. Regression won’t take care of this. These players might.
Jesse Winker
Poetic irony at its finest, Jesse Winker has found the health that eluded him for much of last season and has been mashing all season, especially in July. His defense hasn’t been great, but his arm has been good, and he’s stolen 14 bases, with his average sprint speed rebounding substantially from its levels in 2023. In short, he looks healthy, and the bat looks to be getting better and better as the season goes on. Since Jun. 1, he has a .294/.414/.476 slash line, thanks in substantial part to crushing four-seamers, something he couldn’t catch up to last season at all.
Winker’s ending in a Milwaukee uniform last season wasn’t a fond one for fans or the player. He was made a scapegoat in the playoffs, introduced as a pinch-hitter to prolific booing. The Brewers may have been a year early on Winker, but his profile looks strong. He’d be quite the fit for replacing Yelich, given his elite chase rates, 97th-percentile walk rate and that sneaky left-handed power. He isn’t a raw slugger. He should be more consistent than that profile, as well as being the best like-for-like replacement you could get for Yelich. It’s very easy to picture Winker in a Brewers uniform come August. He won’t be too expensive as a rental, and therefore, he’d also free up the Brewers outfield mix for 2025 for a healthier Yelich to return.
Brent Rooker
Possibly the most intriguing bat available, Rooker can play the outfield, but given the Brewers’ focus on run prevention, he’s likely to be purely a DH should they pursue him. Rooker is what the Brewers always hoped Keston Hiura could be, with a 31% strikeout rate that’s offset by monstrous
power–as evidenced by his .290/.369/.574 line so far, with 23 home runs on the year. If you make a mistake, Rooker can punish it, and he could be the player that turns this Brewers lineup (with all its on base skills) into a legitimate threat. He elevates the ball extremely well, with a sweet spot launch angle of 35%, a hard hit rate of 51% and an elite barrel rate of 29.4%. It’s quite similar to Aaron Judge in some ways, but the contact rates are worrying:
