The Miami Marlins have been selling off some of their most precious assets this offseason, and the players they have chosen to keep do not seem pleased about it.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported on Monday that Marlins center fielder Christian Yelich is “unhappy” with the fire sale the team has conducted this winter, but he has not gotten to the point where he wants to demand a trade. Instead, Yelich would like to sit down with Miami’s front office to get a better idea of the direction of the franchise.
Yelich spoke with Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill earlier in the offseason, and a source told Crasnick the 26-year-old is looking to have a “respectful” follow-up chat.
Yelich is a .290 career hitter who has won a Gold Glove, and teams who would be interesting in acquiring him reportedly include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Teams have reached out, but Marlins officials have said Yelich is “not in play” at this point.
As Crasnick notes, Yelich had established a close friendship with Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon — three players the Marlins have traded this offseason. At least one of Miami’s other top players now wants out, leading many to wonder just how big of a rebuild Derek Jeter’s new ownership group wants to take on. Yelich has four years and a reasonable $44.5 million remaining on his contract, so the Marlins would probably prefer to keep him.
