Big deal: Yelich gets $215M
The Brewers and star outfielder Christian Yelich reportedly are closing in on a nine-year, $215 million extension.
The 2018 National League MVP, 28, has two years remaining on a seven-year, $49.57 million deal he signed with the Marlins in 2015. He will make $12.5 million in 2020 and $14 million in 2021 before the extension kicks in that runs through 2028. There is a mutual option for 2029.
It would be the Brewers’ largest deal ever in total value, eclipsing the five-year, $105 million given to Ryan Braun in 2011.
Yelich had a .329/.429/.671 slash line with 44 homers and 97 RBI in 130 games in 2019. His season was cut short when he fouled a pitch off his kneecap on Sept. 10.
The Brewers plan to shift Yelich from right field to left field this season, creating a spot in right for Avisail
Garcia, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal in December.
Cards’ Miller struggling
Cardinals pitcher Andrew Miller will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time as he tries to regain the feel for his pitches.
“The sensation I have throwing a baseball now just isn’t consistent with what it is when I know I’m good,” said Miller, a two-time AllStar and 2016 ALCS MVP.
Miller struggles to describe the feeling he experiences when releasing the ball. It’s not pain. There’s no burning or tingling. It simply doesn’t feel right.
Scheduled to pitch in relief Monday, Miller cut short his warm-ups after several tosses badly missed his target.
“I wasn’t worried about hurting myself,” Miller said. “The stuff that’s been bothering me and I’ve been trying to work through, it just wasn’t getting better.”
Miller said the issue dates back to last season, his first with the Cardinals, and contributed to his disappointing 5-6 record and 4.45 ERA. He’s entering the final year of a two-year free-agent contract worth $25 million.
This and that
Injured outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss the Yankees’ opener against the host Orioles on March 26.
Judge is having more tests to determine the cause of soreness in the right pectoral area near his shoulder. Judge has not hit on the field since spring training started, and the right fielder felt discomfort Friday when he took batting practice for the second consecutive day in an indoor cage.
Stanton strained his right calf on Feb. 26 during defensive drills. General manager Brian Cashman thinks Stanton will be back in April.
♦ Red Sox starter Chris Sale has soreness in his throwing elbow and has undergone an MRI, the team announced two days after the 30-year-old left-hander faced batters for the first time this spring.