Christian Yelich was set to slide into a spot he hadn’t occupied in years, and then the Brewers made one more tweak before first pitch.
Milwaukee originally had Yelich batting seventh Tuesday against the Pirates at American Family Field, which would have been his first start below the cleanup spot this season. It also would have marked the first time he started a game lower than fifth since 2015 with the Marlins. But with first baseman Jake Bauers scratched because of abdominal soreness, Yelich moved back up to fifth.
The lineup shift came after a rough stretch for the former MVP, who went into Tuesday night with an OPS below .700 for the first time this season after an 0-for-4 night Monday. He had three singles in his previous 25 at-bats.
Manager Pat Murphy had already hinted at the possibility of moving Yelich down nearly a month earlier, when he asked rhetorically, “ Where would you want me to hit him, seventh? ”
On Tuesday, Murphy explained why he was willing to make the change.
“He’s our leader. He’s a pro,” Murphy said when the original lineup was posted.
“He’s not getting results. Let me state this clearly: No one cares more about getting it right and about the Milwaukee Brewers and upholding the standards they have created for themselves, whether it’s realistic or not in terms of what people see on paper.
Yeli is incredible. I respect him.
…
“I didn’t ask him if it was OK. I just said, ‘This is what I decided, and it was only me.
I didn’t ask the coaches. I didn’t ask anybody.
I just said, ‘Hey, this is what’s best for the team.”
Murphy later said he did talk with Yelich about the idea, as Milwaukee tried to jolt a lineup that has been one of the best run-producing groups in baseball but has gone cold near the top. The Brewers entered the night with the best record in Major League Baseball, and their offense ranked fifth in the Majors in runs scored. But since the All-Star break, Milwaukee’s Nos. 1-4 hitters had combined for a .633 OPS, a number that ranked 28th out of 30 teams.
Yelich, 34, has still shown he can drive a lineup. He made the All-Star Game starting lineup in 2024 before season-ending back surgery, then returned in 2025 and hit .264/.343/.452 with 29 home runs and 103 RBIs.
But after opening this season with a 1.018 OPS in his first 10 games, the production has tailed off sharply. Murphy said the move was about finding a spark.
“I think there comes a point that you want something to change, you want something to spark, you want a different direction,” Murphy said. “Sometimes you contemplate it for a while and then there’s a moment that happens - I can’t tell you exactly, but there’s a moment that happens.
I could tell you, but that’s too personal. But there’s a moment you say, ‘You know what?
This is what’s best for the team.’”
In Other News...
Brewers Let A Former Infield Prospect Find His Shot Elsewhere
Eddys Leonards path through Milwaukees system ended with a familiar kind of frustration for a player stuck behind a crowded big league roster. The former Brewers minor league infielder had been using contract clauses to chase a clearer route to major league playing time, and after the Brewers released him, the San Francisco Giants gave him that opening. His appeal was easy to see from the start: he can move around the infield and bring some real pop to the lineup.
What makes Leonards move stand out is how quickly a fresh opportunity turned into a real one. Once he landed with San Francisco, the Giants brought him up and gave him his first taste of the majors, a reminder that a player can spend years looking blocked in one organization and still find a way through somewhere else. For Milwaukee, it is another example of how roster depth can squeeze out a useful talent before he ever gets a chance to matter in the big leagues. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Depth Pieces Are Suddenly Worth Watching In The Farm System
The Brewers farm system had another busy night, with roster shuffling in Nashville adding a little more intrigue to the clubs depth picture. Milwaukee sent right-hander Grant Anderson to the Sounds, while Nashville brought shortstop Eric Brown Jr. back from the 7-day injured list, a reminder that even the upper levels of the system can change quickly as the major league club keeps sorting out its options.
On the field, Nashville also had the kind of game that leaves a mark, rallying late only to see Memphis answer with a walk-off in the ninth inning. Other affiliates, including Biloxi, Wisconsin and Wilson, were in action too, with a mix of player performances and pitching updates that gave the Brewers more to monitor across the board. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pitching Depth Just Got Squeezed Even Tighter
The Brewers kept churning their pitching mix this week, outrighting Carlos Rodriguez and Thomas Pannone to Triple-A Nashville after both had recently been designated for assignment. It was the latest roster squeeze created by Milwaukees addition of new arms, a reminder of how quickly the back end of a staff can get crowded when the front office is trying to keep options open.
Pannone now has the right to elect free agency, while Rodriguez has to decide whether to accept the assignment and remain in the organization. For a Brewers team that leans hard on depth and flexibility, moves like this are part of the business, but they also leave a few more questions about who fits where once the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]