Brewers' Yelich knows he had fortunate timing on new deal

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich acknowledges he benefited from fortunate timing in his contract negotiations.

The Brewers held a March 6 news conference to announce that the 2018 NL MVP had agreed to a nine-year, $215 million contract. Spring training was halted less than a week later because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Yelich's deal was finalized before the loss of revenue from Major League Baseball's shortened season and labor unrest created at least some uncertainty about the game’s financial future.

“At the end of the day, this is where I wanted to be,” Yelich said Sunday. “I said it a lot at the time when we had a press conference, which feels like it was years ago.

“But it’s one of those things where one of the reasons I did it was because I’ve really loved and enjoyed playing here, and the other is you never know what’s going to happen in the future. I’d be lying if I told you I knew a pandemic was going to hit, but it’s kind of just how it played out."

Yelich had two years remaining on his contract, plus a team option for 2022, before agreeing to the deal that could keep him in Milwaukee for the remainder of his career. The 28-year-old has emerged as the face of the Brewers since they acquired him from the Miami Marlins in January 2018.

Yelich earned MVP honors his first year in Milwaukee and finished second last year to Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won the NL batting title each of the last two years and helped the Brewers make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1981-82.

Although his 2019 season ended when he broke his right kneecap Sept. 10, Yelich is healthy now.

“That’s the best part about walking on the field today; just watching one of the best players in...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Brewers-Yelich-knows-he-had-fortunate-timing-on-15387407.php