Christian Yelich
Jan. 25, 2018, is the greatest offseason date Milwaukee Brewers fans have ever seen – and good luck beating it.
Within mere hours that afternoon and evening, the Brewers traded for Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins and signed Lorenzo Cain to the largest free-agent deal in team history. While Cain set a high bar as he produced 13.6 wins above replacement for the Brewers across five seasons, the Yelich deal has gone above and beyond as he has become one of the best players the franchise has ever seen.
The trade didn’t take long to look like a complete heist. The four prospects Milwaukee sent to Miami – Lewis Brinson, Monte’ Harrison, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto – produced negative 6.8 WAR. Yelich was worth 7.3 WAR in his first year with the Brewers, when he was named National League most valuable player and led the club to within one game of a World Series berth.
A foul ball off his kneecap in early September likely robbed Yelich of winning consecutive MVPs in 2019, but his 1.100 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) remains the best ever by a Brewers hitter by far. (The two closest belong to Prince Fielder, at 1.014 and 1.013).
Yelich then signed the largest contract in Brewers history the following spring, a nine-year $215 million extension. His production post-knee injury (while also dealing with recurring back troubles) sank compared to where it was in his first two years with Milwaukee, but he’s since returned to a high form.
Over the past three seasons, Yelich has hit .279 with an .826 OPS and 59 homers, earning an all-star nod in 2024 and finishing 12th in MVP voting a year ago.
What those with the Brewers, especially manager Pat Murphy, will point to is the impact of Yelich’s leadership. Now 34, Yelich has taken his role as elder statesman seriously, offering complete buy-in to the philosophies of both his manager and the organization as a whole.
As the Brewers have made the playoffs seven of the past eight seasons, Yelich has served as the face of the franchise, a player who’s earned the right to be viewed as one of the best to ever don a Brewers jersey and the lynchpin of the greatest run of baseball the organization has ever seen.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Christian Yelich is on Brewers’ Mount Rushmore for the past 25 years
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