By Damon Knight, Tribune Correspondent
On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they are close to an agreement with reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich about a franchise-record contract extension. The length of the deal is said to be for 7-years, $190M making his current contract that still has two years left on it come out to be 9-years, $215M. Yelich in two seasons with the Brewers has clocked in an average of .327/.415/.631, and 80 home runs. He also won the NL MVP in 2018 and his second batting title this last season. In the 2019 NL MVP voting, Yelich finished second behind Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Bellinger after hitting .329 with 44 bombs, 97 RBIs, and a 1.000 OPS in 130 games. The 28-year old right-fielder had his season cut short when he broke his right kneecap in a game against Miami in September. This past month, Yelich stated that there will be “no lack of motivation” going into the 2020 season after a knee injury shortened his 2019 campaign in September.
“It’s hard to stay disciplined every day,” he told reporters. “You really have to bear down and focus, but I feel like if you do that, you make good decisions, and walks help the team too. That’s just how I’ve done it; it’s what I did last season, especially toward the end there, and it’s what I’m going to work on again this year.”
According to Brewers manager Craig Counsell, he said, “I think there’s levels of [competitiveness], for sure,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I always make the point that all of those guys are at the top of the competitive world when it comes to people. That’s why they’re in the room. I think Christian sometimes surprises us because he’s just a humble guy, and sometimes those two things [humility and competitiveness], when they cross, it’s almost like, ‘I didn’t expect that.’ But it’s in there. He’s got a real drive and desire to be great. It’s there, and it’s not going anywhere. It’s not going away. That’s why I’ve got so much faith in what he’s going to do every year.“He’s at a point where he expects a lot from himself. He set a bar that is scary good. I think he always uses — we all use doubters, man. Anybody who says they don’t use doubters in their life, I think they’re crazy. We always use them. No matter what line of work you’re in, you use them. And if you use them the right way, that’s really powerful.” An official announcement could come as soon as Friday if both sides come to a finalized agreement according to MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal.
