Miami Marlins will have Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna switch positions

The Marlins believe they have the best young outfield in baseball, and that won’t change despite two of its three members switching positions in 2017.

Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna will indeed shift positions, with Yelich moving to center field and Ozuna sliding to left, Don Mattingly said earlier this week, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly told Sirius XM Radio’s Jim Bowden on Tuesday that Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, as expected, will flip positions, with Yelich moving to center field and Ozuna moving to left field. The Marlins loved how Yelich handled center in 31 games there last season. (He played 120 in left last season.

Yelich has proven he can play center field effectively, and Ozuna will give the Marlins a power arm in right field.

Yelich, 25, hit .298/.376/.483 with 21 home runs and 98 RBIs over 155 games last season. Ozuna hit .266/.321/.452 with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs over 148 games in 2016.