Top 25 Baseball Stories of 2018 — No. 8: Christian Yelich goes from unhappy Marlin to MVP

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We’re a few short days away from 2019 so it’s a good time to look back at the top 25 baseball stories of 2018. Some of them took place on the field, some of them off the field and some of them were more akin to tabloid drama. No matter where the story broke, however, these were the stories baseball fans were talking about most this past year.

This time last year Christian Yelich was not where he wanted to be. He was 26 years-old — in the middle of his prime — but he was stuck on a Miami Marlins team that had no interest whatsoever in contending in 2018. New owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter had shipped off All-Star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, second baseman Dee Gordon and outfielder Marcell Ozuna, leaving Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto as the only two threats in the lineup. Yelich wanted out, and reports were that his relationship with the Marlins was “irretrievably broken.”

In late January that relationship came to an end, as Yelich was traded to the Brewers in exchange for Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison, and Jordan Yamamoto. Brinson has yet to break the Mendoza line in parts of two big league seasons and the others are still working their way up from the minors so we don’t know how they’ll do. We do know what Yelich did after coming over to the Brewers, however.

Specifically, he led the National League with a .326 batting average, a .598 slugging percentage, and a 1.000 OPS. He also put up a .402 on-base percentage with 36 home runs, 110 RBI, 118 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases while playing above-average defense in the outfield. Yelich hit for the cycle twice in 2018, on August 29 and September 17.

His strong finish helped propel the Brewers to the NL Central crown, thanks in part to his 3-for-4 day against the Cubs in the game 163 tiebreaker. Yelich would reach base eight times in 14 plate appearances in the Brewers’ NLDS sweep of the Rockies. His bat would go quiet as Milwaukee fell to Los Angeles in the NLCS, but everyone has a bad week once in a while. Yelich’s season would end with the National League MVP Award, finishing in first place on 29 of the 30 ballots cast.

From discontent to division champ to MVP. It was a heck of a year for Christian Yelich.

MLB homer leader Pete Alonso to IL with bone bruise, sprain in wrist

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PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.