The Chicago Cubs signed free-agent center fielder Jake Marisnick to a one-year deal with a team option for 2022.
The deal, which is contingent on Marisnick passing a physical, comes with $1.5 million guaranteed: $1 million in 2021 and a $4 million option for ’22 with a $500,000 buyout.
Marisnick, a right-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions, has a career .229 average in eight seasons, mostly with the Houston Astros. He played in 16 games for the New York Mets in 2020, hitting .333 in 33 at-bats.
Last week the Mets signed former Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., who had been non-tendered.
With the Cubs outfield set after the recent signing of Joc Pederson, Marisnick figures to be a fourth or fifth outfielder and a late-game defensive replacement when Pederson is removed.
Marisnick, 29, is considered a solid defensive outfielder but has yet to produce offensively on a consistent basis. His best season came in 2017 in Houston when he hit 16 home runs in 230 at-bats and finished with an .815 OPS.
The Cubs 40-man roster is full, so someone will have to go to make room for Marisnick.
