Christian Yelich back in Miami and what might have been if he stayed with the Marlins

MIAMI — Stepping into loanDepot park brings back memories for Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich. For Miami Marlins fans, Yelich playing in Miami is a reminder of what was and what might have been.

“It’s good to see old friends, old faces,” Yelich said pregame Friday. “A lot of good memories here. To be back where it kind of all started. It’s gone by really fast, for sure. It’s a reminder to enjoy your career. Enjoy your time.”

Even he’s amazed at how swiftly his career is going,

Yelich has now been in Milwaukee as long as he was with Miami. With the Brewers, Yelich blossomed into one of the top players in the National League. He was the 2018 NL Most Valuable Player, and he finished runner-up in 2019. His slash lines (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) are similar in some ways.

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From 2013 to 2017 with Miami, his line was: .290/.369/.432. Entering Friday, his numbers with the Brewers were: .291/.392/.541. The improved slugging percentage is most notable. So are the increased home run totals. He hit 59 homers with the Marlins, and 106 thus far with Milwaukee.

On Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds, Yelich hit for the cycle — single, double, triple and homer in the same game. It’s his third career cycle. Remarkably, all against the Reds.

“I think you probably have to chalk that up to one of those weird baseball oddities,” Yelich said. “It’s hard enough to get four hits in a major league game.”

The irony is, no Marlins player has every hit for the cycle. Yelich’s choice to be the first? No surprise, Jazz Chisholm Jr.

“If I had to put my money on someone over there, it’s probably pretty obvious,” Yelich said. “I’d probably say, Jazz is the guy.”

Still with a youthful face, Yelich is now 30, and he’s highly accomplished. Along with his MVP award, he’s a two-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove winner.

Before Game 1 of the Marlins series with the Brewers, Yelich reminded everyone that he once lived minutes away from the ballpark. He retold the story of when he and Jake Marisnick were rookies, they got lost driving to the ballpark for their first home game.

The Marlins' first-round pick in 2010, Yelich was a lanky left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing prospect from Thousand Oaks, California. He signed with the Marlins instead of playing for the University of Miami.

“When I got the opportunity to play with Yeli on an everyday basis for almost five years, I saw that ability that he has to hit the ball the other way with power,” Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “I feel like he didn’t hit his best here. I knew it would be coming.”

As a prospect, Yelich moved through the Marlins’ system with J.T. Realmuto, Marcell Ozuna and Jose Fernandez. In the big leagues, he teamed with Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Strange-Gordon, Justin Bour and Martin Prado.

The 2017, Marlins featured Stanton being the NL Most Valuable Player, and Ozuna a starter in the All-Star Game, which was played in Miami. That group was broken up a year later, after the ownership group headed by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter took over.

Yelich was dealt to the Brewers for prospects Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto. None of the four is still with the organization. Neither is Jeter.

“I understand the organization getting four players who had a chance to be something,” Rojas said. “It could have been a really good trade-off. It didn’t work for us here, but at the end of the day, it’s a risk that you take when you’re trying to build something.”

At the time of the trade, Yelich was in a tough spot. The Marlins had a depleted farm system, and lacked quality starting pitching for sustainable success. Fernandez was killed in the boating accident on Sept. 25, 2016, setting the organization back. So to him, he didn’t want to be part of a rebuild when he was entering his prime.

“When you look back at that trade, the timing the organization was facing,” said Rojas, the longest-tenured Marlin. “The opportunity for us to get something for the future. The timing in Yelich’s future. He was facing a very tough decision. He was getting into that phase when he was going to be in his prime.”

Yelich made his intentions clear that he wanted to be traded, and the Brewers had the prospect package to complete the deal. Rojas notes that the Marlins now have strong starting pitching and a deep farm system. The pieces are in place to contend over the next few seasons.

“When you look at this team now, if you put Yelich on this team, he would have been a very good piece that we would never had lost,” Rojas said.

What might have been is something Marlins fans constantly ponder. For Yelich, the friendships he made in Miami are strong today.

“It was a tight-knit group,” Yelich said. “Everybody is doing pretty well. Everyone always talks about old Marlins times. Those teams, and those groups we had. Everyone still stays in touch, for the most part. It’s a special group. When you’re going through it, you don’t really realize it, because of the day-to-day grind. The daily thing, so you don’t really think much of it.

“When you look back at it, you appreciate what you had, and just the talented players that came through that clubhouse, and the guys you were able to spend the beginning of your career with.”