Christian Yelich shattered his kneecap and the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff chances fell to pieces on Tuesday night.
Yelich, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, is done for the season after he whacked a foul ball off his right knee.
Yelich, 27, had a career year in 2018, his first with the Brewers, but elevated his production again in 2019. Before he exited Tuesday’s game, Yelich had a bWAR of 7.1, was slashing .330/.430/.672 with 44 homers, 97 RBIs and 30 steals.
FanDuel updated MVP odds on Wednesday with Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Cody Bellinger a heavy favorite (-250) and Washington Nationals slugger Anthony Rendon ahead of Yelich. Rendon checks in at +155, while Yelich is now +1600.
What should help the Brewers: after a weekend series ahead against division-leading St. Louis, Milwaukee won’t see another team with even a .500 record this season.
But after Yelich, is there hope for a Milwaukee miracle?
Entering Wednesday, the Brewers were a mere 1.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second National League wild card. The Brewers took two straight series from the Cubs and have won five in a row and eight of 11.
Still, FanGraphs listed the Brewers’ playoff odds at 27.6 percent on Tuesday.
What’s working in the favor of the Brewers beyond the schedule is attrition with their primary competition. The Cubs won’t have their own MVP, Javier Baez, for the rest of the season and Kris Bryant is slowed by a knee injury.
What’s working against Milwaukee? Mostly the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks are on the heels of the Brewers and Cubs. Their NL pennant odds are on the climb, too, having gone from +7000 to +4500 to +2700 and currently at +2000 in two weeks.
The Brewers dropped to +3300, even with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.
In the NL Central, the Cardinals are +660, ahead of the Cubs (+1100) with the Brewers dipping to (+3000) without Yelich.
