Marisnick regrets role in Astros' sign-stealing

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Apologetic and emotional, Mets outfielder Jake Marisnick addressed his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal on Friday, calling it “a situation that I could have stopped.”

“We’re all grown men,” Marisnick said. “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.”

An Astro from 2014-19, Marisnick denied no part of the team’s wrongdoing during the 2017 season, beginning his first press conference as a Met by apologizing “to fans, Major League Baseball, my peers and anybody else who was affected by this.”

“There was a line and it was definitely crossed,” said Marisnick, whom the Mets acquired for two prospects in December. “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. This is a big deal.”

Fellow 2017 Astro J.D. Davis also addressed the scandal earlier Friday, saying he “spoke prematurely” when insisting in December that he was unaware of any sign-stealing during his time in Houston. Davis, who appeared in 24 games as a rookie in 2017, hit .226.

“As a 24-year-old at the time, I was pretty starstruck with the whole thing of being around some of the veteran guys, being in a big league clubhouse and everything,” Davis said, admitting that he was indeed aware of the Astros’ sign-stealing practices. “I learned a lot over there, just growing up over there through the system. … I’m trying to learn from the failures and the success and apply it to the 2020 season.”

More entrenched in the Astros' culture was Marisnick, who hit .308 with a 1.008 OPS at home that season, compared to .187 with a .647 OPS on the road. Marisnick said it’s “hard to pinpoint” how much the Astros’ system, which involved banging on trash cans to relay signs to hitters in real time, helped him that year. But he did say “the thought behind it was to gain an advantage,” focusing on the culpability he feels as someone who knew about the system but kept quiet.

“You definitely knew something was going too far,” Marisnick said. “That’s where, as a person that was there, to not speak up I think is something that I definitely regret.”

Since arriving at Mets camp, Marisnick said he has had conversations with several of his new teammates -- including Marcus Stroman, who tweeted that it “makes sense now” after watching video of the Astros laying off several breaking balls in a start against him in 2017. Declining to elaborate on the details of that conversation, Marisnick nonetheless said it “went well.”

“It’s something that’s not going to go away lightly,” Marisnick said. “I’m going to work every day. I’m going to have to put my nose down and work hard. … I’ve got to go in there and earn the respect and earn the trust.”

Asked specifically about former Mets manager Carlos Beltrán, who was named in Major League Baseball’s report and who reportedly played an outsized role in the scandal, Marisnick declined to say that Beltrán -- an influential veteran -- made him fearful of speaking up.

“I’m a grown man in a situation that I could have stopped,” Marisnick said. “And I didn’t stop it.”