Los Angeles Angels center fielder Brandon Marsh was not expecting to get called up to the Majors this season. Playing the same position as Mike Trout and coming off of a significant shoulder injury, he figured his opportunity would have to wait another year.
In the meantime, Marsh not only dealt with his on-field injuries, but even more difficult circumstances off the field. In April of 2021, Marsh’s father passed away after a long bout with cancer. In June, Marsh’s childhood friend passed away as well.
For many, this simply would be too much to overcome. However, Marsh kept pushing, and shortly after the MLB All-Star break in July, Marsh got the call that he would be joining the Angels.
While his father and childhood friend would not be there for his debut, the rest of his family did everything they could to make it to Anaheim. Marsh expressed what his 2021 debut meant to him after the year he and his family had, according to Jack Harris of The L.A. Times:
“It means a lot more now than it would have a year ago,” Marsh said. “I would have much rather had it happen a year ago, so everyone could have been there to see it. But, everyone is here that’s supposed to be here. So it’s a lot more meaningful for me, personally, to get up here this year.”
Sonja Marsh, Brandon’s mother, recalled an important conversation he would frequently have with his father about his baseball career and how much it would have meant to him to see Marsh get the call.
“He’s determined, he will not fail,” Sonja said. “Jake would always be like, ‘What’s your Plan B if you don’t make it.’ And he would go, ‘Dad, if I have a Plan B, that means I don’t think I can make it.’ ”
The Angels center fielder has also played remarkably well during this stint. After a slow start, Marsh dominated on the team’s 10-game road trip. He is currently slashing .266/.333/.374 in 43 games. An alarming strikeout rate is the only thing stopping him from being even more talked about on the national scale.
Once Trout returns, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see him move to left field — and Jo Adell to right field — to create the outfield of the Angels future.
Joe Maddon planning for Angels future with Raisel Iglesias
While Marsh and Adell have cemented themselves as a part of the Angels future, the same certainty cannot be doled out to Raisel Iglesias. The Halos have not had a closer of his caliber in a very long time, and have already started looking ahead with him.
Joe Maddon announced that he will no longer turn to Iglesias for his patented multi-inning saves, saying that he will only be used in ninth innings from now on. This decision was made to protect Iglesias’ health for the future, regardless of whether or not that future is with the Angels.