Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, who has played just one game since April 11 and only 10 all season, is in the lineup against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday after being activated from the injured list.
Yelich, 29, has had muscle spasms in his back. He tried playing earlier this month, going 2 for 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 3, but then went right back on the injured list the following day.
“I don’t want to get into the details, but I ended up feeling better, doing some stuff that worked for me,” Yelich said Tuesday.
An MRI in late April showed no structural damage.
Yelich said he changed his rehab over the last couple weeks and felt good enough to go on a rehab assignment for two games at Triple-A Nashville before rejoining the Brewers in Kansas City.
“Hopefully got to the point where it’s behind me or have an idea of what I want to do here going forward (to stay healthy),” Yelich said.
He indicated previously that the injury has been one he’s dealt with in the past, but this kept him out of the lineup longer than usual. Normally, when muscle spasms subside, he said he’s good to go for the long haul. Yelich now believes he’s reached that point.
“They weren’t going to let me play again until I could play (regularly),” Yelich said.
The 2018 NL MVP is batting .353 with a .463 on-base percentage and no homers and one RBI in just 10 games this season.
In a related move, the team optioned left-hander Hoby Milner to Triple-A Nashville.