Angels’ Cade Marlowe Plans To Trigger Upward Mobility Clause In Contract

Angels outfielder Cade Marlowe plans to trigger the upward mobility clause in his minor league contract on Monday, Ari Alexander of 7News Boston reports. Once Marlowe triggers the clause, the Angels will have to offer him to the league’s other 29 clubs. If a team is willing to put Marlowe on its 40-man roster, the Angels will have to either promote him to theirs or let him go. Marlowe still has one option remaining, meaning an acquiring team could add him to its 40-man but still send him to the minors. If the rest of the league passes on Marlowe, he will stay in the Halos’ system. Marlowe lasted until the 20th round of the 2019 draft, but he turned into a prospect of note for Seattle. When the Mariners promoted Marlowe to the majors in 2023, Baseball America had him as the 16th-ranked player in their system. In his first taste of the majors that year, Marlowe hit a productive .239/.330/.420 (114 wRC+) with three home runs and a 12% walk rate in 100 plate appearances. He struck out at a high 33% clip, though, and a .346 batting average on balls in play inflated his numbers. Marlowe took another nine trips to the plate with the Mariners in 2024, but he has not returned to the majors since then. The Mariners designated Marlowe for assignment during and after the 2024 season. He stayed with their Triple-A affiliate last year but elected minor league free agency this past winter. Marlowe landed with the AL West rival Athletics on a minors deal, though he opted out in mid-July and continued his tour of the division when he signed with the Angels a few days later. Between the A’s and Angels Triple-A affiliates this season, the lefty-swinging 29-year-old has slashed .315/.394/.515 with nine homers, 27 stolen bases, a 21.4% strikeout rate and a 10.8% walk rate in 407 plate appearances. That’s good for a 117 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Overall, Marlowe has amassed 1,443 PA at the minors’ highest level and hit .276/.364/.459 with 40 homers and 118 steals. While it remains to be seen if another organization will take a 40-man flier on Marlowe, perhaps he will get a chance to make his way back to the majors if he sticks with the Angels. They traded starting right fielder Jo Adell to the Guardians before the Aug. 3 deadline and have been relying on struggling lefty hitter Josh Lowe since then. Lowe has stumbled to a .611 OPS and a 68 wRC+ in 224 PA this year. View Comments (3)