Brewers Rumors: Is a Christian Yelich Trade Being Considered By the Blue Jays?

Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has played both his best and worst baseball in Milwaukee. After being acquired via trade in January of 2018 he immediately went on to win MVP and then finished second in MVP voting a year later. Following those two years where he was arguably the best hitter on the planet, the Brew Crew signed him to a nine-year, $215MM extension.

After inking the largest contract in Brewers history, Yelich went on to have three less than desirable seasons. Like some other stars around the league, he struggled during the shortened 2020 season, a back injury hampered him in 2021, and in 2022 he showed a few more glimpses of returning to form.

This past year he put together his best season since an unfortunate knee cap fracture prematurely ended his 2019 campaign. Statistically, he posted bests (since 2019) in OPS (.818), home runs (19), RBI (76), OPS+ (124), and stolen bases (28). The downfall was that his back did cost him a few weeks of game play in September.

Between having a bounce back season and the reports earlier in the off-season of the Brewers listening to offers on anyone, his trade interest around the league has spiked. One team that has reportedly considered trading for him is the Toronto Blue Jays and they are no stranger when it comes to deals involving significant MLB players.

The Blue Jays may be looking into a trade for Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich.

In this interview posted on the B/R Walk-Off account on X, MLB Insider Jon Heyman disclosed that the Blue Jays had "kicked around the idea" of trading for Christian Yelich. Toronto is thin on outfielders and reportedly want to add a left-handed bat. They missed out on free agent Shohei Ohtani and were not the winner of the Juan Soto trade sweepstakes, so if they are looking to get creative Yelich could potentially be an option.

A potential trade comes with one very big contingency. That is the fact that Yelich has a full no trade clause. He could agree to waive it, but since coming to Milwaukee the organization has missed the playoffs just once, so leaving a successful ball club may not be in his interest.

On the other hand Yelich may want to go to an organization where their front office swings bigger. In recent years, the Blue Jays have acquired talented players such as Jose Berrios, Matt Chapman, Dalton Varsho, and Whit Merrifield via trade and signed guys like Chris Bassitt, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and George Springer.

Another complicating factor is his contract. There is deferred money from 2031-2042 involved, a 2029 mutual option with a $6.5MM buyout, and incentive-based escalators. Additionally, the Blue Jays would have to put together a compelling enough package that would benefit both sides.

All this being said, a Christian Yelich trade to the Toronto Blue Jays ultimately seems unlikely. However, they have a knack for making splashy trades and with plenty of off-season to go, anything can happen.

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