Christian Yelich's Agent Says Relationship With Marlins Is "Irretrievably Broken"

Christian Yelich is just about the last good Miami Marlins player standing, so naturally, he’d also like to escape the Derek Jeter regime’s austerity plan before the start of the season. Yelich’s agent Joe Longo spoke with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick and made it abundantly clear that Yelich wants out immediately.

There were rumblings that Yelich was on the fence about pushing for a trade a month ago, but Longo was more to the point today:

“The relationship between player and team is irretrievably broken. It’s soured. He’s part of the old ownership regime. The new ownership regime needs to get new parts into this plan and move forward, and he needs to get on with his career where he’s got a chance to win. The big issue is him winning and winning now.

“He loves the city of Miami. He loves the fans. He’s had nothing but a good experience in South Florida, and he feels sorry where they ended up. But I think having him report [to spring training] and attempting to include him moving forward is going to be uncomfortable for both sides. I don’t see how it’s going to work.”

That’s about as direct as you’ll see any agent being in public, though it’s not as if a player could be blamed for trying to ditch the Marlins. The team wants to get by on a threadbare payroll and somehow extract even more money from the few fans they have left. It’s shameful and bound to cripple the Marlins’ immediate on-field fortunes, so of course Yelich wants to leave. He’s signed through 2021 on a relatively cheap deal and he’s been very productive. ESPN reports that the Braves, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Diamondbacks and, Phillies are among the teams who have called GM Michael Hill. The Cardinals were also pursuing him before they plucked Marcell Ozuna instead.

[ ESPN]