The Miami Marlins have not reached the postseason since 2003, but one of their former up and coming stars believes all of that was about to change before tragedy struck the organization in September of 2016.
Christian Yelich, who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason after five years in Miami, told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick this week that things went into a tailspin for the Marlins after Jose Fernandez tragically lost his life in a boating accident.
“From talking to the guys there — the guys who got traded and some of the guys who are still there — the consensus from our clubhouse is that everything changed after the tragedy with Jose,” Yelich said. “I think everybody figured our window to win was with him. You have a bona fide ace, a No. 1 starter, and you kind of have something there with that. It’s nobody’s fault what happened. It’s a tragedy in every sense of the word. Nobody could have seen that coming.”
The Marlins showed some signs of promise in 2016, and there’s no question Fernandez was one of the biggest reasons for that. In 29 starts, the right-hander went 16-8 with an impressive 2.86 ERA. His ERA after four MLB seasons was 2.58, and Fernandez was just 24 at the time of his death.
“We went through that rebuild, and we were so close. We had all the pieces,” Yelich said. “If a few things break differently, you never know how things turn out. I think a lot of the guys feel that way. We were really close and had a chance to do something special with that group. We just weren’t able to get it done. And when you don’t get it done in this business, teams have to move on. That’s what happened with us.”
After Derek Jeter’s ownership group took over, the Marlins held a fire sale. They reduced their payroll from $115 million to $90 million, and many players were unhappy about it. Yelich was one of them, which is why he essentially forced his way out of town when he was still under contract for several more seasons. While he didn’t want to be part of the rebuild, Yelich believes it will ultimately be successful.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I think people need to let things play out down there and give it a chance,” he said. “People are going to say, ‘How come you didn’t give it a chance?’ That stuff takes time, and I didn’t know if it was going to get done in the amount of time I had left there. But I think it’s going to get better there. The fan base has been through a lot the past few years, but I truly believe this ownership group will do things different.”
There’s no question Fernandez’s death altered the direction of the Marlins, but many fans have a tough time believing Jeter and his fellow owners had to hit the reset button. In fact, the team’s most recognizable fan is threatening to not renew his season tickets. Unfortunately, it could be several more years before the Marlins end their playoff drought.
