Did Jose Fernandez’s Death Begin the Downfall of the Marlins?

I understand what former Miami Marlins centerfielder Christian Yelich meant when he said the death of Jose Fernandez began the downfall of the team.

Would the Miami Marlins still be the same team with No. 16 on the mound this season? Possibly but not probably.

Christian Yelich, who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers before Training Camp said the death of his friend and teammate, “changed everything” with the ball club. He believes had it not been for the tragedy on Sept. 25, 2016, this would be a team with the same roster of jettisoned players and a possible playoff contender.

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“I’d still be there. [Giancarlo] Stanton would still be there. We’d all still be there this year if that didn’t happen. We would have been gearing up making a playoff push,” Yelich said in a story by Clark Spencer in the Miami Herald.

The death of Jose Fernandez is still a hot-button topic in South Florida and Major League Baseball. Per an October 30, 2016 story on CNN.com, “Fernandez, 24, suffered blunt-force injuries to the head and torso, along with skull and jaw fractures when the boat he was in hit a jetty near Miami Beach in the early morning hours of September 25.

“Fernandez and two friends, Emilio Jesus Macias and Eduardo Rivero, were found dead later that morning after their boat was discovered near South Pointe Beach on Government Cut.”

At the time of his death, the Marlins were still in the hunt for a National League wildcard berth. Fernandez was 16-8 on the season with a 2.48 ERA and 253 strikeouts. He was a legitimate Cy Young contender.

It’s the event that still haunts this organization. There is no true No. 1 starter in the rotation. Instead of trying to build a roster with more dependable veterans, this is a franchise that has backtracked the past two seasons and has begun the rebuilding project new owner Derek Jeter talked about before he bought the team from then-owner Jeffrey Loria.

“I think it just set all the events into motion a little bit earlier than maybe it would have happened,” Yelich added.

Truth be told, there will never be a way to determine if Yelich’s comments are prophetic. There was talk prior to Fernandez’s passing if the Marlins could sign him to a long-term deal. There were rumors the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox may make have offered a deal for him. There was the $325-million contract for Stanton that proved to be an albatross for the franchise.

Regardless of Yelich’s comments, given the climate of the organization and its bloated payroll, it is fair to say this roster would still look different this season, whether or not the Marlins were playoff contenders.

“Fernandez was the undeniable pitching ace of the Marlins,” Clark Spencer wrote. “Without him, the Marlins had no shutdown pitcher in 2017 to go with a potent lineup that contained a marquee outfield of Yelich, Stanton and Marcell Ozuna.”

Yelich is now part of a playoff contender in Milwaukee. Ozuna is playing in St. Louis. Dee Gordon, who was also traded this offseason and part of the “core” the former owner and management wanted to keep in place, is now in Seattle. All of this, and a young ballclub losing but making strides to get better.

While there is a lasting memory of Yelich, Stanton, and Ozuna walking out to the outfield for the ninth inning of the final game of the 2017 season, these images will last forever. Fernandez’s smile and infectious personality are missed by the baseball world. But this organization has started a new chapter. Yelich and his teammates wrote several chapters in the novel of this organization’s history.

Next: It's a Streak as Marlins Win Fourth in a Row

While he makes several solid points, we will never know how this team would have looked this season, because we do not know if the star pitcher and the core of players would still be around.