3 former Miami Marlins who are doing badly with new teams
There are three former Miami Marlins who are not doing particularly good. Is it wrong for us to gloat a little bit about that? It’s not our fault they’re not as good outside Miami! As you hopefully checked out our top 5 starting pitching performances article and our Stadium series, let’s look at these struggling former Fish.
Three former Miami Marlins are not playing that well anymore.
3. Christian Yelich
Christian Yelich was pretty good for the Miami Marlins back in the day. He batted .284/.362/.402 in 2014 and .300/.366/.416 in two memorable seasons with The Fish. Yelich’s best however was in 2016, when he batted .298/.376/.483 with 21 home runs and 98 RBI.
Christian Yelich was never much of a power hitter for the Miami Marlins, with 28 in 2017 and 21 in 2016 his highest totals. He was however a good player based on WAR (along with his aforementioned batting average and On Base Percentage). His WAR was 3.8 in 2014, 3.6 in 2015, 4.9 in 2016 and 3.7 in 2017.
Yelich was ultimately a comfortably above average to good player, though not a superstar in his time with the Miami Marlins from 2013 to 2017. He exploded with the Milwaukee Brewers after being traded there, as he batted .326/.402/.598 in 2018 and .329/.429/.671 in 2019. He also hit 36 home runs in 2018 and 44 in 2019, and drove in 110 RBI in 2018 and 97 in 2019.
it’s unfortunate but Yelich’s back became a problem for him and so did his kneecaps. As a result, Yelich has been terrible the last three seasons. He batted .205/.356/.430 with 12 home runs and 22 RBI in 58 games and 200 AB’s in 2020.
He followed that up with a .248/.362/.373 batting line in 2021, with 9 home runs and 51 RBI in 117 games and 399 AB’s. He’s currently hitting .245/.338/.377 with 7 home runs and 27 RBI in 72 games and 273 AB’s.
2. Marcell Ozuna
Marcell Ozuna used to share the Miami Marlins outfield with Christian Yelich back in the day. Interestingly, Ozuna was considered to be a better defender, and played in center, with Yelich in left. Ozuna played for The Fish from 2013 to 2017, before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s currently a DH for the Atlanta Braves.
How did Marcell Ozuna do for the Miami Marlins? He was known as a streaky power hitter and good defender. In 2014, he batted .269/.317/.455 with 23 home runs and 85 RBI in 153 games and 575 AB’s. He declined to a .259/.308/.383 batting line with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 123 games and 459 AB’s in 2015.
In 2016, Ozuna batted .266/.321/.452 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI in 148 games and 557 AB’s. 2017 was his best season with the Miami Marlins, as he batted .312/.376/.548 with 37 home runs and 124 RBI in 159 games and 613 AB’s. That was good for 5.6, the highest WAR of his career.
Ozuna’s St. Louis tenure began in a typical way for the streaky slugger, as he batted .280/.325/.433 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI in 148 games and 582 AB’s. He followed that up with a disappointing .241/.328/.472 batting line with 29 home runs and 89 RBI in 130 games and 485 AB’s.
2020 was Marcell Ozuna’s first season in Atlanta and he batted .338/.431/.636 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI in 60 games and 228 AB’s. That turned out to be his peak.
Marcell Ozuna has been pretty bad the last two seasons: he batted .213/.288/.356 with 7 home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games and 188 AB’s in 2021. This season he’s batting .227/.279/.414 with 14 home runs and 32 RBI in 70 games and 273 AB’s. The Miami Marlins don’t miss him.
3. J.T. Realmuto
J.T. Realmuto played for the Miami Marlins from 2014 to 2018, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. At one point he was considered the best catcher in the Major Leagues!
2015 was Realmuto’s first more or less full season, as he produced a .259/.290/.406 batting line with 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 126 games and 441 AB’s. In 2016, he followed that up with a .303/.343/.428 batting line with 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 137 games and 509 AB’s. He was a 2.6 WAR player that season, but became a 4.4 and 4.5 WAR player in the next two seasons. He even had that same 4.5 WAR in his first season in Philly!
In 2017, Realmuto batted .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 141 games and 532 AB’s. In 2018, he batted .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI in 125 games and 477 AB’s. That was his best season with the Miami Marlins.
Things looked good for Realmuto in his first season with the Philadelphia Phillies, as he batted .275/.328/.493 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI in 145 games and 538 AB’s. The following season in 2020, he batted .266/.349/.491 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 47 games and 173 AB’s.
The 2020 season was the beginning of the catcher’s downfall, as he batted .263/.343/.439 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI in 134 games and 476 AB’s in 2021. That was good for 3.5 WAR. So far in 2022 Realmuto is batting .237/.316/.364 with 5 home runs and 28 RBI in 65 games and 236 AB’s. He’s not as elite anymore.
The Miami Marlins traded three cornerstone players from a recent run in quick succession. Those trades are topics for other articles, but now The Fish aren’t missing those players at all.