Notes: Christian Yelich arrives in camp, eager to get back to baseball

PHOENIX -- With exactly none of the pomp and circumstance befitting a reigning National League most valuable player, Christian Yelich made his inaugural appearance at Milwaukee Brewers camp on Friday morning.

Arriving three days ahead of the mandatory report date for position players, Yelich finally turned the page on what was both an exhilarating and exhausting offseason for him.

Yelich was named NL MVP on Nov. 15, roughly a month after the Brewers were downed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

He also dealt with wildfires and a mass shooting in his native Southern California, helped spearhead the "California Strong" charity response to benefit the victims of both, filmed spots for a couple TV shows, traveled to New York to accept his MVP award and then to Milwaukee for an appearance at "Brewers On Deck."

BREWERS BY POSITION:New catcher Grandal couldn't wait to get to work

CAMP REPORT:Nelson throws first official bullpen session of spring

"I’m all good," said Yelich. "I feel great, rested up. Obviously it’s a little bit different of an offseason than years past, but it was all for good reasons. It was a lot of fun.

"I’m excited to be back to playing baseball and focusing all my time and energy on that."

Yelich had yet to sit down with manager Craig Counsell when he addressed the media but said as far as he knew, it would be a normal spring for him as far as his usage and routine goes.

The important thing, according to Yelich, is that he feels good both physically and mentally.

Counsell told reporters he reminded the assembled players on Thursday that it was time to leave 2018 – as good as it was – in the rear-view mirror. For a player like Yelich who's coming off a career season (.326 average, 36 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 1.000 OPS), that might not be the easiest thing to do.

But for his part, Yelich left no doubt he's totally on board with his skipper in that regard.

"It’s a great message because anything that happened last year, whether it was good or bad, whether guys had great seasons or bad seasons, it doesn’t mean anything this year," he said. "It means nothing. Everyone starts with a clean slate. We’re all building from the bottom all the way up and we all have that common goal in mind. All your time and energy is focused on that.

"There’s no point in looking back on 2018 whether it was good or bad. It’s about 2019 and what we have to accomplish as a team.”

The final highlight of Yelich's offseason was when he, Ryan Braun, Mike Moustakas and Mike Attanasio helped distribute some of the more than $1 million raised in the "California Strong" fundraiser.

"It was really cool," he said. "I think that was the best moment of that entire campaign, when you really got to see what all the time and effort was for. We got to meet some of the families and see the people who were directly impacted by those events.

"It was a touching moment, for sure. It was definitely emotional. It made everything worth it, I guess you could say. All the hard work, the time commitments that you put into the California String campaign, it all came to fruition at that moment when you got to see those people and how they were impacted, and just help them out a little bit with a check.

"That was the best that we could do. We showed that we care about them and people were thinking about them."

Woodruff back to starting

Right-hander Brandon Woodruff made some key appearances out of the bullpen down the stretch last season and performed well in various roles in the postseason but is happy to be back in starting mode this spring. He advanced through the farm system as a starter and said he feels more comfortable in that role.

“That’s what I’ve done my whole career,” Woodruff said. “I wasn’t sure after last year, the way the game is going now. But they cleared some stuff up about that. I’ve always viewed myself as a starter. That’s what I know best. I think I can be consistent starting.”

Woodruff, 26, was 1-0 with a 6.32 ERA in four starts last season, most of them in the opening weeks. When used in relief, he posted a 2.03 ERA in 15 appearances, including a 0.73 mark in seven outings in September. In the postseason, Woodruff was 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA in four appearances.

“That was a neat experience,” Woodruff said of pitching in the pennant race. “In that situation, you want to do whatever you can to help. It’s fun to go out there on the biggest stage and show you can perform, and help the team.”

As solid as Woodruff was on the mound in the postseason, he was asked if he talked more over the winter about the game-tying home run he hit off Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the NLCS. Pitchers love to talk about their hitting but that was one of those incredible moments that Woodruff never will forget.

“Everybody wants to talk to me about the home run,” he said. “I just got lucky and got hold of one. You round first base and you don’t know what to do. I was so excited.”

Woodruff’s excited reaction on the bases got the crowd and his teammates even more fired up but he didn’t realize what he had done until seeing a video later.

“I was in my own little world,” he said. “I don’t remember even hearing anything. It was just a cool moment.  You can’t script that.”

Another arm in camp

The Brewers added another arm to their bullpen competition when right-hander Jay Jackson was signed to a minor-league deal and reported to camp. Jackson, 31, spent the last three seasons pitching in Japan for the highly successful Hiroshima Carp, going 10-8 with a 2.10 ERA in 175 relief appearances, with 192 strikeouts in 176 innings.

Prior to going to Japan, Jackson was in San Diego’s organization and made his only big-league appearances for the Padres in 2015, going 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in six relief outings. Originally drafted by the Cubs in the ninth round in 2008, he made a brief appearance in the Brewers organization in 2014, making six starts (0-3, 5.06) for Class AAA Nashville.

“He’s been pitching in Japan and wanted to come back,” Counsell said. “So, he’s a candidate in our bullpen. He’s got a good arm. We thought highly of things we saw of him in Japan. With him coming back, there was a fit.”

Well aware of how many established big-leaguers currently are frozen on the free-agent market, Jackson said he was pleased to get an opportunity with the Brewers, even on a minor-league deal. One report indicated he would have a $1 million salary if he made the big-league roster.

“They were interested, and look at this team, and look at this bullpen,” said Jackson, who played with Yelich in Miami’s farm system. “Just being able to come here and try to help these guys get to the World Series is the goal. I was able to get a couple of championships in Japan. I think I can help, and I’m looking forward to coming back home and trying to.”

It has been a whirlwind past few days for Jackson. He met his fiancée in Japan and she recently gave birth there to a son. The child will have dual citizenship and eventually Jackson hopes to have the entire family in the United States.

“I was actually in Japan until two days ago,” said Jackson, a fastball/slider/changeup pitcher. “I spent some time with the family and got on a flight, and now I’m here. It’s been a great experience, to say the least.”