At the onset of the 2025 season, questions swirled on whether or not Christian Yelich was healthy enough to even swing a bat at the major league level. His 2024 campaign was limited to 74 games with the Milwaukee Brewers because of season-ending back surgery, and no definite timetable was set for his return.
So much for worrying.
Yelich has surpassed his or the team’s wildest expectations, and the veteran has returned to be the steadying rock in the Brewers’ young but ultra-talented lineup. He has already played in more games this year than he did all of 2024, and the calendar has not yet reached July.
Based on the serious nature of his injury and the numbers he is currently putting up, Yelich should garner serious attention for this year’s NL Comeback Player of the Year.
On July 23, 2024, Yelich succumbed to the ongoing pain in his back and played in his 73rd and final game of the season. Up to that point, his numbers were more than solid: .315 batting average, 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and a stellar .910 OPS.
He underwent successful discectomy surgery on August 16, but to appreciate what Yelich is doing now, the actual procedure must be explained.
Back in August, Dr. Mark Wichman, an orthopedic and sports medicine specialist with Aurora Health Care who did not treat Yelich, offered some insight.
Wichman, who was interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, explained that the procedure can take place anywhere on the spine. It ranges from the cervical vertebrae in the neck to the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back, as was Yelich’s case. The procedure alleviates a herniated disk, in which the jellylike center of the spinal disk has escaped its rubbery exterior. Once that jellylike substance pushes out — Wichman likened it to the spot on a donut where the jelly center is injected — it can cause a variety of symptoms.
“It can cause pressure on the nerve root … pain, numbness, tingling down the leg in the case of the lumbar spine and down the arm in the case of the cervical spine,” Wichman said.
Although Wichman felt the Brewers’ outfielder would be ready to tackle physical therapy three months following the procedure, there was no guarantee in that. One precedent that local fans may remember is Brook Lopez, who had the same surgery in October 2021. He took five months to return to the lineup, but his sport does not involve violent twisting of the torso every time at bat.
In other words, although the surgery was productive, only time would tell when or if Yelich could return to his normal self.
On March 1st, Yelich took his first competitive swings since the previous July. They came in a spring training game, and although he went 0-for-3, the day was a rousing success because he was finally pain-free.
Yelich started slowly in 2025, where he slashed .184/.276/.324 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs over his first 48 games through May 22. The Brewers also took a bit of time to find their footing, going 24-24 over that stretch.
Since then, Milwaukee and Yelich have found another gear.
Over the last 25 games, Yelich is slashing .394/.450/.667 with seven homers, 28 RBIs, four stolen bases, six doubles, and 19 runs scored. Unsurprisingly, the Brewers have been much better over that span and are 17-8 over his last 25 games played.
With both the Brewers and their former MVP kicking it up a notch, Milwaukeeans have much to look forward to this summer.
According to BetMGM, before the season started, Christian Yelich was not listed among the top ten favorites to win NL Comeback Player of the Year. Ronald Acuna, Jr, Sandy Alcantara, and Spencer Strider owned the best odds. While Acuna, Jr has raked to a tune of .395 since returning in May, the other two pitchers have not produced. Alcantara’s ERA is 6.69, and Strider has won just two games this season.
Through Monday, June 23, Yelich has hit 15 homers and driven in 56 runs through 74 games. That pace is greater than his spectacular MVP season of 2018, when through 82 games he hit 11 home runs and owned 43 RBI.
Does this mean he is gearing up for another MVP run? Not likely, especially when he plays in the same league as Shohei Ohtani. But what it does prove is that Christian Yelich is back and warrants serious recognition for the 2025 NL CPOY.
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