Angels sign former rival outfielder

The Los Angeles Angels are ready to forgive and forget.

The Angels have signed veteran outfielder Jake Marisnick, the team’s official transaction log revealed this week. Marisnick is getting a minor-league deal from the team.

The 32-year-old Marisnick has played for nine different teams during his 11-year MLB career. While he has become increasingly more quiet at the plate – batting .225 with a .667 OPS in his last three years combined – Marisnick provides enough defensive ability in center field that he has stuck around in the bigs for this long.

That said, Marisnick is still loathed by many Angels fans. He played for the rival Houston Astros from 2014-19 and was involved in an infamous collision at the plate in 2019 with then-Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy (video here). Lucroy suffered a concussion and a broken nose as a result of the collision and Marisnick was eventually suspended two games by Major League Baseball over the play. Marisnick would then receive a harsh reception every single time he faced the Angeles from there on out.

The Angels faithful might not like where Marisnick spent last season, either. But now he is in the Halos organization and could get a chance before long as a depth piece in center behind Mike Trout and Mickey Moniak.