'Love him': Crew ebullient about Yelich news

PHOENIX -- Lorenzo Cain is always the last to know.

When he arrived to work on Wednesday morning, the social media-averse Brewers center fielder had no idea that the club and Christian Yelich were putting the finishing touches on a mega-contract that could keep the National League MVP Award winner in Milwaukee for the next 10 seasons.

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Milwaukee had no announcement planned for Wednesday or Thursday but it was what everybody was buzzing about in the hallways at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Cain had time to catch up.

“He definitely deserves it,” Cain said. “Definitely the best player on the team. He rakes, and he got a deserving contract, for sure.”

Cain just had no idea what that was.

“I’m not sure what he signed for,” he said, “but I’m sure it’s a lot.”

A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday that Yelich and the Brewers are working on a deal to add seven years onto the two guaranteed years left on his contract, making it a grand total of nine years and about $215 million, plus a mutual option for 2029.

Cain and Yelich are forever connected, acquired within 24 hours of each other in January of 2018 in a one-two punch orchestrated by Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns -- a move that has powered consecutive postseason appearances. Sterans got Yelich in a blockbuster trade with the Marlins and signed Cain to a club-record $80 million free-agent contract. Both came with five years of control.

Now Yelich is poised to stick around longer.

“When you’ve got a guy playing at such a high level like that, why not lock him up?” Cain said.

Yelich arrived on Wednesday as usual, wearing a T-shirt, black pants and brightly-colored sneakers to begin work like it was any other day. Manager Craig Counsell appeared to inform him they were holding fifth infielder tryouts during morning workout -- practice for the event an outfielder joins the infield to prevent a ground ball from getting through.

The 28-year-old has yet to see the outfield or the infield during a Cactus League game. That’s according to plan, said Counsell, who has held Yelich and Ryan Braun out of games so far because neither player requires many at-bats to feel ready for the regular season. Yelich is coming back from a fractured right kneecap that prematurely ended his 2019 season, but that has nothing to do with the delayed start to game action, Counsell said.

“Christian, in his first two years here, he’s done incredible things,” the manager said. “He took a trade that was probably to a place he wasn’t sure about at the outset of it and made the best of it and found a place that he really likes to play.”

It happened quickly. Yelich’s sensational second half in 2018 made him the first league batting champion in Brewers history, and he led the NL again in '19. He became the fourth Brewer to win an MVP Award in 2018 and finished a close second to Cody Bellinger despite his shortened '19. Yelich has made the All-Star team in both of his seasons in a Brewers uniform. In '19 he set franchise records for weighted runs created plus (wRC+), weighted on-base average (wOBA), OPS, slugging percentage and at-bats per home run.

“Since I’ve been here and Yeli’s been here, he’s been the best player I’ve ever seen,” relief ace Josh Hader said. “The way he goes about his business, he does everything the right way, and it’s just fun to be around him. For him to be here -- life-long Brewer -- that’s exciting news, especially to the Milwaukee fans. I know they love him. I think everybody loves him. I don’t think there’s one soul out there that doesn’t.”

When left-hander Brent Suter heard the news, he said he lept out of his seat, did some fist-pumps “and started jumping around a little bit.”

“I would say that puts the finishing touches on that part of his lore, his place in our franchise, for sure,” Suter said. “Milwaukee loves him, we all love him. He’s just a great person and an unbelievable baseball player. So, great day and glad to see him cemented as ‘our guy.’”

Commitments like the one between Yelich and the Brewers often have a trickle-down effect in the clubhouse. It proves, Suter said, that Yelich believes in the culture of Milwaukee’s front office and coaching staff and likewise that the team has competitive seasons ahead.

It had Cain thinking back to the day they both arrived.

“Good memories. Definitely a good day,” Cain said. “We’ve both had the same goal in mind -- hopefully bringing a World Series to Milwaukee. We’ve got to continue to build off what we’ve done the last two years and get back in the playoffs and hopefully make that run this year.”