In his first public statements as a member of the New York Mets and also since reports surfaced of the Houston Astros employing illegal sign-stealing technology during the 2017 and 2018 season, outfielder Jake Marisnick took some time ahead of his press conference to address his involvement, as well as his remorse.
“I want to start with apologizing for what happened in 2017. I feel terribly about it. There’s a line and it was definitely crossed. I want to say sorry to the fans, Major League Baseball, my peers, and anybody else who was affected by this,” the 28-year-old said. “When I come in here, I don’t want to be a distraction to the Mets’ clubhouse but I do recognize that this is a major deal — it is a big deal — and that’s why I’m here today to talk to [the media] about it.”
Marisnick accepted full responsibility for his actions, placing no blame on anyone but himself for partaking in the operation.
“You knew something was going too far. That’s where, as a person that was there, to not speak up is something that I definitely regret,” Marisnick said (quote via Anthony DiComo, MLB.com). “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.”
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen sent left-handed prospect Blake Taylor (2.16 ERA over 40 appearances/27 starts between Advanced-A St. Lucie, Double-A Binghamton, and Triple-A Syracuse last season) and 19-year-old Venezuelan outfielder Kenedy Corona (.301/.398/.470 between Brooklyn, the Gulf Coast League, and the Dominican Summer League) to Houston in exchange for Marisnick in December.
The career .227/.280/.380 hitter (seven seasons; first two in Miami before being traded to Houston in July 2014) brings an elite-level glove to Flushing, having registered eight outs above average in centerfield last season — tied for 11th in the majors, per Statcast — and 12 OAA in 2018.
Whether he’s pegged for a fourth-outfielder role in 2020 — likely — or ends up getting thrust into the starting lineup — these things will happen — getting a situation like this out of the way early on was the most prudent course of action for Jake Marisnick.
Onward and upward.
