Jake Marisnick, OF

Player Data: Age: 29 (3/30/1991), B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 16 G, 33 AB, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .333 BA, .959 OPS, 0 SB, 2.9 BB%, 29.4 K%

Advanced Stats: 0.2 bWAR, 0.1 fWAR, 156 WRC+, 159 OPS+, -3 DRS, -2.9 UZR

2020 salary: $3,312,500 ($1,226,852 prorated)

Grade: C

2020 Review

Jake Marisnick was acquired from the Houston Astros at the beginning of what turned out to be Brodie van Waganen’s last offseason with the Mets. It was van Waganen’s second trade with the Astros in as many offseasons (J.D. Davis being the first).

Left-handed reliever Blake Taylor and outfield prospect Kenedy Corona were returned for Marisnick’s services, which the Mets hoped would be as a platoon man with Brandon Nimmo facing right-handed pitchers and Marisnick facing lefties. Marisnick, who’d been an above-average defensive center fielder for through parts of seven seasons in the majors (46 DRS in about 3,750 innings), could also be a late-inning replacement as lineups shifted toward defense.

Noting a defensive upgrade as a necessity for the 2020 season, van Waganen said Marisnick was an “elite defender” and “smart baserunner” in the introductory press release. While no one could’ve seen what 2020 ultimately ended up as, Van Waganen did not get the best of the Astros this time around. Marisnick ended his 2020 campaign appearing in just 16 games due to injuries and ended the year defensively with -3 DRS and -2.9 UZR. This is not to say that Marisnick is not a good defender (he is), but he struggled in 2020 with what the Mets acquired him to do, and we can claim injuries as the culprit.

Everything was peachy keen with Marisnick as spring training commenced. He hit a homer in the first game of the spring, and he got a handful of starts and at-bats until everything shut down due to COVID-19 during the third week of games.

Once summer camp got going again months later, though, the 29-year-old seemed to fall victim to the ramp-up-then-down-then-up-again of the 2020 season. He tweaked his hamstring in mid-July, and ultimately started the season on the IL. He returned a month into the season on August 28, squeezed in eight starts an eight more appearances, and went on the IL again on September 21 with another hamstring injury.

These hamstring issues clearly played an impact on Marisnick’s overall play in the outfield. In previous years, Marisnick stayed among the tops in the league in average jump time (usually around 1.5 feet quicker than the average player). In 2020, he was 0.7 feet below average. Pair this with the fact that Marisnick’s foot speed on the base paths was a full foot per second lower than previous career averages (29.2 in 2018 and 2019 vs. 28.2 in 2020), the hamstring issues clearly played an impact even when Marisnick was healthy enough to get into games.

During the three weeks was able to get into games, Marisnick turned out to have the one of the best offensive burst of his career. In 33 at-bats, the 29-year-old had 11 hits, a .959 OPS, and two home runs, including this one at Yankee Stadium that came in the Mets onslaught late in the first game of their doubleheader there this year:

Marisnick’s hot couple weeks at the plate probably would’ve returned back to career averages had he had a full season, as would’ve his defensive numbers, but that’s the problem: in an already shortened season, Marisnick’s season got cut to just 33 at bats and a handful of putouts in center field.

The outfielder’s most impactful moment as a Met probably came before he took to the field. At the beginning of spring training, with the Astros cheating scandal and its fallout still the talk of baseball, Marisnick took the podium at a press conference and discussed his role. “There was a line and it was definitely crossed,” he said, noting that he knew he’d have to work hard to gain the respect of his teammates throughout the year.

He followed with, “We’re all grown men. I’m a person in there that could have spoken up. I’m not happy with myself that I didn’t, but I didn’t speak up. And I had the ability to.” (Quotes from MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.) It was nice to see Marisnick as one few regular hitters from the 2017 Astros team not on the roster anymore show regret for his role in the cheating. C’est la vie. All is well, Jake.

2021 Outlook

Marisnick is a free agent this offseason. The Mets are looking to upgrade their center field options, with George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr. at the top of their wish list (and potentially Kevin Kiermaier and others as trade targets), so Marisnick probably won’t be back on the squad unless something goes wrong with the Mets’ offseason plan.

Guillermo Heredia was tendered a contract as a depth piece (with a minor league option left), and there are other cheaper depth pieces available on the market than a major-league contract that Marisnick will most likely demand.