Rangers to sign OF Jake Marisnick to non-roster deal

The Rangers are signing outfielder Jake Marisnick to a non-roster deal, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Marisnick, 31 later this month, slumped to a 78 wRC+ last year in 198 plate appearances with the Cubs and Padres.  He’s known mainly for his glovework, and has predominantly played center field in his nine-year big league career.

Marisnick was drafted out of high school by the Blue Jays in the third round back in 2009.  In November 2012, he was on the other side of the blockbuster deal that sent Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson to Toronto.  He then joined the Astros at the 2014 deadline in a trade involving Jarred Cosart and Colin Moran.

From 2015-19, Marisnick got semi-regular playing time in Houston, averaging 116 games per season.  In 2015, ’18, and ’19, he led the Astros in defensive innings in center field.  Marisnick posted some stellar Statcast Outs Above Average marks in several of his seasons with the Astros.

The Astros traded Marisnick to the Mets in December 2019, but he played only 16 games in 2020 due to hamstring injuries.  Marisnick inked a $1.5MM free agent deal with the Cubs for 2021, but suffered another hamstring strain in May.  At the trade deadline, the Cubs shipped him to the Padres for Anderson Espinoza as part of their sell-off.  Marisnick struggled to find his hitting stroke in 54 plate appearances with the Padres, who declined their end of his $4MM mutual option after the season.

The Rangers committed $500MM to new infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien prior to the lockout, but haven’t yet moved to aggressively upgrade their outfield.  They added Kole Calhoun, and are projected to play Adolis Garcia and Nick Solak as well.