The Milwaukee Brewers’ hopes of holding on to their lead in the National League Central race took a blow Thursday when the club announced that All-Star left fielder Christian Yelich will undergo season-ending back surgery.

Yelich hasn’t played since July 23. He spent the past three weeks having treatment in an attempt to return and help the Brewers win their third division title in the past four seasons. Milwaukee enters Friday with a nine-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.

“I ultimately 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,” Yelich said in a statement. “We have a very special team here and it will be disappointing not to be able to contribute on the field down the stretch. However, I have the utmost confidence in my teammates.”

Yelich was enjoying a bounce-back season in 2024. The three-time All-Star was leading the National League in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) when he went on the injured list July 24. The 32-year-old added 11 homers and 42 RBIs in 73 games and was the top vote-getter among NL outfielders in All-Star Game balloting this season.

It was his best season since he claimed back-to-back NL batting titles in 2018-19, winning the NL MVP in 2018. But his production slipped from 2020 to 2023, when he combined to hit .254 with 54 homers and 206 RBIs in 473 games.

Yelich is in his 12th season in the majors, spending his first five years with the Miami Marlins, and has a .287 average with 204 homers and 748 RBIs in 1,466 career games.

–Field Level Media