Christian Yelich's Relationship with Marlins 'Irretrievably Broken,' Says Agent

Outfielder Christian Yelich no longer wants to be part of the Miami Marlins organization, according to his agent. 

Per ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, agent Joe Longo described Yelich's relationship with the Marlins as "irretrievably broken" and said the 26-year-old should be traded before spring training begins:

"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."

The Marlins have been among the most active teams this offseason, though their moves have largely been subtracting talent and payroll from the MLB roster. 

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported in October that Marlins ownership intended to cut at least $50 million in 2018 salaries to get the payroll down to $90 million.

Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna have all been traded. Stanton and Gordon were owed $35.8 million next season, per Cot's Baseball Contracts. Ozuna signed a $9 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday to avoid arbitration, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. 

Yelich figures to have substantial trade value for the Marlins because of his age and team-friendly contract. He's due to make $43.25 million over the next four years with a team option for 2022. 

A first-round draft pick in 2010, Yelich has hit .290/.369/.432 with 59 home runs in five MLB seasons.