Right field: Christian Yelich's defensive versatility will be tested

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ninth in a position-by-position series on the Milwaukee Brewers entering spring training. Today: Right field.

PHOENIX – Christian Yelich has accomplished plenty in his four-plus seasons in the major leagues.

This year – his first with the Milwaukee Brewers after the team acquired him in a blockbuster trade on Jan. 25 – he’ll be adding another line to his résumé: right field.

How much time he sees out there remains to be seen, and manager Craig Counsell is already on record as saying that the majority of Yelich’s playing time will come in left.

But with Ryan Braun still in the mix and with no plans to play him anywhere other than left in the outfield, that means that in order to keep Yelich in the lineup as much as possible, he’s going to need to be able to move around.

Which is just fine with the 26-year-old.

“That stuff really works itself out,” Yelich said. “Everything kind of falls into place as spring training gets underway – roles and all that kind of get determined. I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do to win. I’ll play wherever; it doesn’t matter to me. Just whatever’s going to help us out.

“I feel comfortable anywhere.”

Yelich made his major-league debut with the Marlins in July 2013 and played almost exclusively in left field through 2014. He played so well there in 2014 he won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, to his surprise.

“I thought they were messing with me,” he recalled his reaction being when he learned he’d been named the National League’s best defender at the position.

Yelich started seeing more action in center the next two seasons – 36 starts in 2015 and 29 in ’16 – before moving to center and making 155 of his career-high 156 starts there last year (he started one game at designated hitter).

With Miami sporting a Gold Glover in left in Marcell Ozuna and a Gold Glove finalist in right in Giancarlo Stanton, Yelich was a good fit in center even though the metrics suggested he was average to slightly below average defensively.

The situation will be different with Milwaukee.

Free-agent signee Lorenzo Cain is penciled in as the everyday centerfielder, with Yelich expected to be his primary backup. Braun will be given every opportunity to become the team’s backup first baseman with Yelich expected to play “primarily” in left.

Yelich’s time in right then would likely come when the matchups don’t favor incumbent Domingo Santana, who is coming off a breakout season in 2017 in which he hit .278 with 30 home runs and 85 runs batted in but also is considered a substandard defensive player.

There also remains the possibility Santana could be traded this spring, which would ease the logjam. He reportedly was shopped around in the off-season. The Brewers also have an ascending young player in Brett Phillips.

“We might go in with a plan and then the plan will change frequently during the season," Counsell said. "It doesn’t have to be this strict plan. We know what guys are capable of, we know where we can plug them in if we need to, and then what happens kind of depends on what happens to the group collectively."

“The fact that (Yelich) has played center field on a full-time basis and played left field on a full-time basis and won a Gold Glove, you’re pretty confident he can (do it).”

Said Yelich: “I’ve played left and center; I’ve never played right. But if that’s something we want to venture down and talk through, I’m sure we can work on it and make it happen. Honestly, it’s up to Craig and whatever he thinks is best for the team and whatever’s going to help us win every night.”

While where Yelich ultimately plays is up in the air at the moment, what’s crystal clear is the 2010 first-round pick can hit. He comes to the Brewers with a career .290 average, on-base percentage of .369 and OPS of .800 in 643 games.

His last two seasons have been his best with the bat. In 2016 he hit .298 with 21 homers and 98 RBI to go along with a .376 on-base percentage and an OPS of .859 while last year he hit .282/18/81 with a .369 on-base percentage and .807 OPS.

His ability to get on base consistently – like Cain – should help add some consistency to what was more often than not an all-or-nothing offense for the Brewers in 2017. His left-handed bat will add even more balance to the lineup, and he has enough speed to be able to hit anywhere in the upper third.

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It would stand to reason that Yelich’s offensive numbers could spike with the Brewers now that he could play 81 games a year at hitter-friendly Miller Park instead of cavernous Marlins Park.

“I’m not going to change anything,” Yelich said. “I’m going to stay with the same approach. Just because I’m going to a smaller park, per se, I’m not going to try to do too much or do more. Marlins Park was probably one of the tougher ones in the league to hit at, but we had a lot of guys make it look like a bandbox when it really wasn’t."

“I’m just excited to see how it plays. I’m not going to force anything, and really just stay with the approach I’ve had for the last few years.”

Which was?

“I just go up there, try to get a good pitch to hit and hit it hard,” said Yelich. “That’s really all you can control if you think about it. Then everything else kind of plays itself out. I stay within myself, and try not to do too much.”

Milwaukee gave up a king’s ransom of prospects to acquire Yelich, who’s entering his prime and under team control through 2021 for a total of $43.25 million. The Brewers also hold a team option for 2022 for $15 million, with a buyout of $1.25 million.

Miami’s off-season fire sale after an ownership change led Yelich to seek a trade, and now he’ll spend the spring getting accustomed to his new surroundings and new teammates.

“It was a different off-season,” he said. “Obviously this was the first time I had ever been in trade rumors or anything like that where it was seriously considered a real possibility. It took a toll – everybody asking every day where you’re going and you have no idea. You’re just along for the ride like everybody else.

“But to have it resolved and know where you’re at in spring training with a new group of guys is awesome and I’m definitely looking forward to it. I had a lot of great friends and great memories in Miami and that sticks with you but this is baseball and these things happen.

“I’m not any different than any other guy – we had 4-5 other guys get traded as well. It is what it is. It’s just a business, and I’m looking forward to being here for sure.”

And Counsell is looking forward to penciling his name into the lineup pretty much every day, be it in left, right or center field.

“He’s a complete baseball player. That’s what stands out the most,” Counsell said. “Then being 26 years old and just the number of at-bats he’s piled up in the big leagues already -- when we think about 26 and when baseball players come into their prime, that’s what I think gets everybody excited.

“He’s a very complete player at his age. Lots of skills in several areas that can help you win.”

By the numbers

5 Players to start a game in right field for the Brewers in 2017 (Santana 139, Hernán Pérez 16, Eric Thames three, Nick Franklin two, Brett Phillips two).

.021 Difference in batting average – .292 to .271 – for Yelich in road games vs. home games, respectively, in 2017.

9 Offensive categories in which Santana ranked in the Brewers' top two in 2017. His .371 on-base percentage and 88 runs scored were tops on the team.

60.1% Yelich's ground-ball rate since his major-league debut, which is third-highest in the majors among players with at least 1,000 plate appearances.