Brandon Marsh returns to Anaheim for first time since trade that changed everything

Almost two years later, Brandon Marsh still remembers what time it was. His phone buzzed. He answered a call that changed his life. “I was walking to the cage,” Marsh said. “It was 12:34, I believe. California time.” It was trade deadline day, Aug. 2, 2022 — the last time he stood inside Angel Stadium.

He returns Monday as a Phillies outfielder. It’s been 21 months. Marsh has since come to appreciate how a transaction between two teams on different sides of the country can have a lasting effect. Two weekends ago, a young fan was on the field for batting practice at Citizens Bank Park. The boy wore a fake beard that looked like Marsh’s. He loved it. He’s seen more No. 16 jerseys in the stands this year. If he stayed with the Angels, maybe this all could have happened. Maybe Not.

He’s spent more time in the majors now with the Phillies than he did with the Angels, but they were the organization that drafted him. They groomed him. Angel Stadium is where his family gathered in July 2021 — three months after Marsh’s father, Jake, died of cancer — for Marsh’s big-league debut. They brought an urn with Jake’s ashes to the game.

Marsh, a hyped prospect, was only that at the time of the trade. Hype.