Christian Yelich fractures right knee cap on foul ball, will miss remainder of 2019 season

There is perhaps no player in baseball more central to his team’s success than Christian Yelich. The reigning MVP of the National League is putting together a compelling case for repeat honors, often single-handedly carrying an inconsistent offense for the Milwaukee Brewers. He entered the day hitting .330/.430/.672 with 44 home runs in 129 games for a 173 wRC+, and became the first player to post a 40/30 season since teammate Ryan Braun in 2012 when he swiped his 30th base over the weekend.

Yelich started tonight’s game batting third in the lineup and set to play right field, but he didn’t make it far enough in the contest to take the field on defense. During his first at-bat in the top of the opening inning, Yelich fouled a ball off his right knee and fell down to the ground. He was in visible pain and had difficulty getting back to his feet.

Yelich was eventually able to leave the field under his own power and was replaced mid at-bat by Trent Grisham, who wound up completing a strikeout that goes on to Christian’s line.

With the playoff hopes of Cream City Nine hanging on by a thread, any extended absence by Yelich could doom what’s left of their season. There have, however, been no indications so far as to the severity of his injury. We’ll continue to update as more information becomes available.

UPDATE:

After the game, it was announced during a press conference that Christian Yelich fractured his right kneecap. He will miss the remainder of the regular season. Yelich will return to Milwaukee tomorrow for further evaluation. It is yet to be determined if he’ll require surgery. This is a devastating injury for Milwaukee as they sit 1.5 games back of the Cubs in the Wild Card race, pending the outcome of Chicago’s game against San Diego tonight.