Jesse Winker faced 'bad teammate' rumors in Seattle. He couldn't be more loved with Brewers.

Jesse Winker has turned the page.

As the Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter returns to Seattle for a three-game series beginning Monday, he will do so having left what was a challenging year with the Mariners in the past.

"Once I got traded, that was a chapter that was closed and I turned to this one," Winker said. "It wouldn’t be fair moving on to a new place if you’re still hung up on things that happened in the past. Like I said, it was an experience that I can take a ton of positives from. I enjoyed my time there. I’m thankful for the experience and the lessons I’ve learned."

Those lessons from Seattle came the hard way. Not only did Winker struggle on the field, but reports about what kind of teammate he was off of it surfaced following his lone season with the Mariners.

But just as Winker is leaving his time with the Mariners in the past, he's also entered a new chapter in terms of what kind of teammate he is after an off-season trade to Milwaukee offered him a chance at a clean slate. And to hear his Brewers teammates describe him, he has seized that opportunity.

“He’s a great person on and off the field and he definitely brings that swagger and that energy,” centerfielder Garrett Mitchell said. “With the group of guys that we have, it’s really infectious. A lot of guys feed off that energy and there are a lot of guys who are similar. He’s the type of guy who brings a team together.

“From the moment I met him, I’ve just enjoyed the absolute crap out of him.”

Enthusiastic. Committed. Loud. Engaged. Unique. Those are all ways his new teammates have described Winker early in the season.

"He’s been great," outfielder Christian Yelich said. "I really like playing with him. I’ve really, really enjoyed being teammates with him. He’s a really talented player and he brings good energy. He’s been a good fit for us, for sure."

Sometimes, pitcher Brandon Woodruff says, there isn’t even a proper way to summarize the Jesse Winker experience ‒ but when you see it, you know it.

“He’s awesome, man,” Woodruff said “It’s the Wink Show. That’s the best way to put it.”

Winker acknowledges injuries affected his mood while with the Mariners

Winker’s time in Seattle didn’t go well in any facet, really. He had a career-worst season at the plate, batting just .219 with 14 homers and a .688 OPS, and he battled injuries that he admits affected his mood. As Winker’s personality soured, so did relationships in the clubhouse. He acknowledges that he wasn't the person or teammate he needed to be.

“How I behaved, I have to take accountability of that, and I do. I didn’t handle things right,” Winker said.

After Winker wasn’t with the team for their two playoff series last year a beat reporter for the Seattle Times said during a radio appearance that Winker wasn’t a good teammate, didn’t put in enough work and the team grew tired of him.

“I let things in my personal life bleed into my work life,” Winker said. “As a baseball player – as a person, really – that’s what you have be able to control. I didn’t.”

While Winker's performance on the field declined, he also dealt with a knee injury and had neck and back pain that kept him from sleeping. He doesn't want to use that as an excuse for his behavior, but it has opened his eyes to what other players might be going through off the field, as well.

“When you wake up with constant pain — it’s not an excuse to act a certain way,” Winker said during spring training, “it challenges your character, I think, at times. It’s not an excuse, it’s just the reality of the situation.”

“We’re adults. We’re men,” he added. “We have a responsibility as people to help and to be good people. Nobody’s perfect. Everything that I’ve gone through with [injuries] amid whatever else – I try to give people grace and understand that people might have things going on that we don’t know about, right? Did it affect me? For sure. I think it would affect all of us.”

Winker says he isn’t still particularly close with anyone from the Mariners, and that’s in large part because he never opened himself up enough to establish any kind of deeper relationships.

“Guys only know what you share,” Winker said. “If you’re closed off, that’s not their fault, you know? There’s good people there, but they only know what you give them. It’s not their job to come to you and go, ‘Hey, you’re not performing well.’ That’s not their job. We’re all here to help the team win.

"The only things I can be accountable for are my lack of production and my behavior, and it wasn’t great last year. That’s that.”

With the Brewers, Winker has become a beloved teammate

With the Brewers, Winker has made a concerted effort to build those relationships and, in doing so, has shed any labels he may have had from his time in Seattle and become a key figure in producing clubhouse chemistry that Brewers up and down the roster rave about.

“From Day 1, he’s been open, he’s been honest,” infielder Mike Brosseau said. “He’s been truly dedicated to the character of the team. We welcomed him with open arms. I love him. He’s been great for the clubhouse. He’s been kind of that new guy but a leader all at the same time.”

Winker is a talker, no doubt. He likes to make his voice be heard. But what has earned him the respect of his team is the fact that he does more than just that.

"I think Jesse also listens," manager Craig Counsell said. "You can give it back to him and he’ll take it. It’s just fun. I think that’s No. 1.”

What has made Winker’s energy easy to embrace, his teammates say, is that they can tell they’re getting the true version of him.

“It’s authentic. It’s genuine,” Yelich said. “He cares about teammates and wants us to do well and wants us to win.”

Winker has also gone out of his way to make the team’s younger players feel welcome and encouraged them to be their authentic selves, as well.

“I just love being around him,” outfielder Joey Wiemer said. “Great dude. He’s super big for us in terms of just enjoying your time here and just being a dude on that field. He’s been great. That’s been huge for us, is just how much we’ve been welcomed with open arms.

"It’s not that we’re overly comfortable there, but just him helping us feel like we’re a part of the team and one of the guys has been really helpful.”

The praise isn't one-sided. For as much as his teammates have enjoyed having him around, Winker is even more appreciative of what the change in scenery has done.

"I’ve had a blast being here," said Winker, who hasn’t yet found the power with the Brewers he showed earlier in his career when he was an all-star with the Cincinnati Reds, but he’s shown why he earned a reputation as a professional hitter.

Entering play Sunday, Winker was batting .300 with a .389 on-base percentage, three doubles and nine runs batted in.

"It’s been really refreshing and the people here have been amazing," Winker said. "They’ve treated me so well so I’m thankful to be a Brewer."

He continued: "I do think as a professional, there’s an accountability standpoint that you have to be able to adjust to whatever situation you’re in. But sometimes, man, you can’t beat comfort.

"Comfort is worth a lot. Peace of mind."

More: Shoulder strain expected to sideline Brewers' Brandon Woodruff much longer than 15 days

More: Former Brewers closer Josh Hader says he was surprised by timing of last year's trade to Padres but didn't take it personally

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: After tough year with Mariners, Jesse Winker beloved by Brewers