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Phillies Rumors

Phillies Reportedly Seeking Right-Handed Outfielder

By Nick Deeds | July 13, 2024 at 10:10am CDT

The Phillies are “prioritizing” finding a right-handed hitter to add to their outfield mix, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Gelb adds that Philadelphia is expected to make at least one trade to address its bench mix before the deadline.

The organization cleared a spot on its bench for a righty outfielder yesterday by parting ways with veteran utility player Whit Merrifield. That’s left the club to search for a platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh in left field, and their internal options are fairly limited—particularly with Johan Rojas patrolling center on a regular basis. Cristian Pache and Weston Wilson are both currently on the club’s roster, but neither inspires much confidence.

Pache, 25, was a roughly league average hitter (99 wRC+) for the Phillies last year in 95 trips to the plate but has struggled in a similar role this year. In 109 trips to the plate this year, Pache has struggled to a .200/.294/.274 with a wRC+ of just 65. Meanwhile, Wilson has just 11 games under his belt at the big league level across the past two seasons. While he’s hit a solid .261/.431/.391 in that limited time, it’s hardly a surprise that the Phillies would be interesting in a more established option than Weston, particularly given his somewhat middling 107 wRC+ at the Triple-A level this year.

Edmundo Sosa, who his hitting an excellent .275/.333/.461 (123 wRC+) on the year and was forced out of the starting lineup by the return of Trea Turner from the injured list, may seem like an obvious solution. The 28 year old has been ice cold at the plate lately, however, with a slash line of just .239/.269/.347 in his last 104 trips to the plate this year. Even setting aside Sosa’s prolonged cold streak, the utility infielder has virtually no experience in the outfield with his four brief cameos on the grass spanning just 5 1/3 innings. That would make him a risky choice for regular time in the outfield, particularly with Nick Castellanos’s less-than-stellar defense in right field on an everyday basis.

That’s left the Phillies to look for external options as they track down a platoon partner for Marsh, who is hitting just .149/.222/.170 against southpaws this year. Fortunately, there are plenty of potential trade candidates who could improve on that production substantially. A look at MLBTR’s Top 50 Trade Candidates for the upcoming deadline reveals a number of right-handed hitting outfield options, and while top option Luis Robert Jr. is likely not in the cards for a club that appears to be looking for a smaller addition pieces like Tommy Pham, Kevin Pillar, or even Miguel Andujar could all capably fill the short-side platoon role the Phillies are looking to add a candidate for.

Pillar in particular appears to be a strong fit for the Phillies are looking for. The veteran has had a resurgent season at the plate with the Angels after struggling during his time with the White Sox earlier this year, and much of that production has come by way of crushing lefties. The 35-year-old has hit an excellent .359/.406/.625 in 69 trips to the plate against southpaws this year, and that strong production is largely backed up by his career .282/.318/.470 line against opposite-handed pitching. While he’s more of a scratch defender (-1 OAA, -3 DRS) at this point in his career than the elite center fielder he was in his younger days, Pillar could still be an excellent platoon bat for a team like the Phillies.

Beyond the aforementioned options, there are some other less likely trade candidates who could make some sense for the Phillies, such as Tigers veteran Mark Canha or A’s slugger Brent Rooker. Rooker has been connected to the Phillies previously but may be an imperfect fit for a club looking for smaller acquisitions, but the 35-year-old Canha could fit that bill nicely after a somewhat down season at the plate this year. That overall downturn in production hasn’t stopped him from being a quality hitter against lefty pitching, however, as Canha has slashed a strong .290/.408/.484 in 76 trips to the plate against southpaws this year. While the slugger is split-neutral for his career his lengthier track record of offensive production could be appealing for the Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies

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Phillies Release Whit Merrifield

By Steve Adams | July 12, 2024 at 1:20pm CDT

The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve released veteran infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and recalled fellow infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Merrifield signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Phillies in free agency this past offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $7MM salary for the current season and at least a $1MM buyout on an $8MM club option for the 2025 campaign.

Merrifield, who has struggled to a .199/.277/.295 batting line in 174 plate appearances this season, is still owed about $3.01MM of his salary plus that $1MM buyout. He’ll now be able to sign with any team, and a new club would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster or injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe, but Philadelphia will remain on the hook for the majority of his remaining contract.

While things with the Phillies clearly didn’t pan out, the 35-year-old Merrifield was a decent hitter as recently as last season in Toronto, when he turned in a .272/.318/.382 slash with 11 homers, 28 doubles, a triple, 26 steals, a 6.1% walk rate and a 17.1% strikeout rate. His offense has tailed off since his peak seasons (age-29 and 30) when he led the American League in hits in consecutive seasons as a member of the Royals, but this level of decline was as unexpected as it was precipitous.

To his credit, Merrifield’s contact skills remain excellent. He’s fanned in only 10.9% of his plate appearances, and this year’s 8.6% walk rate actually ties a career-high mark for the three-time All-Star. He hasn’t hit the ball with any authority, however, turning in a bottom-of-the-barrel 83 mph average exit velocity and 17.4% hard-hit rate. Merrifield entered the 2024 season with a gaudy 24.8% line-drive rate in his career but has hit just 16.8% of his batted balls on a line this season.

The late-blooming Merrifield didn’t even reach the majors until his age-27 season in Kansas City, but he almost instantly became not just a fixture on the Royals’ roster but one of the most prolific hitters and base thieves in the league. From 2016-20, Merrifield batted .295/.342/.445 with 58 homers and 119 stolen bases. In addition to leading the majors in hits in 2018 and 2019, he also paced the American League in stolen bases in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

Between that track record, the now minimal price tag and his defensive versatility — he can play second base, third base and all around the outfield — Merrifield should find a new opportunity before long. Grim as his 2024 production (or lack thereof) has been, there are several teams around the league looking for a veteran righty bat and/or help at second base/left field.

The Yankees, Red Sox and Mariners are among the current postseason contenders who’ve received negligible production from second base this year and could speculate on Merrifield turning things around with a change of scenery. (WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets that Boston did not have interest in Merrifield this offseason, but circumstances change.) And, Merrifield’s former Kansas City club has been on the hunt for a bat that can play both the infield and outfield, as noted last month by general manager J.J. Picollo himself.

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Newsstand Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Weston Wilson Whit Merrifield

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David Dahl Elects Free Agency

By Darragh McDonald | July 10, 2024 at 2:53pm CDT

The Phillies announced that outfielder David Dahl has cleared waivers and elected free agency. He was designated for assignment earlier this week. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, with Dahl qualifying on both counts.

Dahl, 30, was able to manufacture a feel-good comeback story a few weeks ago but it eventually ran out of steam. The veteran was mostly hurt for the 2020-23 period but looked great after signing a minor league deal with the Phils in the winter. He got into 43 Triple-A games and ripped 12 home runs in that time while also drawing walks at an 11.4% clip. He slashed .340/.416/.660 during his 166 plate appearances as an IronPig.

That got him called up to the majors as the Phillies put Brandon Marsh on the injured list. It seemed for a moment that Dahl was going to be able to keep the good times rolling, hitting two homers in his first three games with the Phils. But he hit a wall after that with a .154/.196/.231 line in his next 56 plate appearances, getting bumped off the roster when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper returned from IL stints.

Dahl will now look for his next opportunity elsewhere, though the fact that all clubs passed on the opportunity to grab him off waivers suggests he’ll likely have to settle for another minor league deal. Some teams may be intrigued by his blistering start in Triple-A this year, as well as his past record. He hit .297/.346/.521 in 240 games with the Rockies from 2016 to 2019 but, as mentioned, has been hamstrung by injuries since then.

He has suffered a lacerated spleen that led to the organ needing to be removed entirely, as well as a stress fracture in his ribcage, a broken foot, a high ankle sprain, a shoulder strain, multiple back injuries and a quad strain. He has hit .200/.237/.318 in his 390 major league plate appearances since the end of 2019, split between the Rangers, Padres and Phillies.

Dahl passed five years of service this year but won’t be able to get to the six-year mark. If he winds up hitting somewhere and gets back on a roster, he could be retained via arbitration for 2025. With the trade deadline now less than three weeks away, perhaps some upcoming roster shuffling will open a nice opportunity for him somewhere.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions David Dahl

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Latest On Phillies’ Rotation

By Anthony Franco | July 9, 2024 at 11:24pm CDT

The Phillies are making an adjustment to their rotation. Rookie right-hander Tyler Phillips will make his first big league start on Saturday against the A’s, tweets Matt Gelb of the Athletic. Fellow rookie Michael Mercado is set to work from the bullpen.

Mercado, 25, just stepped into the starting five in late June. He threw five innings of one-run ball against the Cubs in his first MLB start. The Braves teed off on Mercado on Saturday, though, tagging him for five runs on a trio of homers before he could escape the second inning. While one poor start won’t change the organization’s view on Mercado, most prospect evaluators suggest his fastball-curveball arsenal is better suited for relief work.

A former second-round pick of the Rays, Mercado joined the Phils in a minor trade at the beginning of last offseason. He has started 10 of 14 appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Mercado has a stellar 1.71 earned run average at the top minor league level. However, he has walked more than 11% of batters faced while averaging fewer than four innings per appearance.

Phillips has had a more conventional starting role with Lehigh Valley. He has started all 15 Triple-A appearances and averaged slightly more than six innings per game. His 4.89 ERA is a lot more pedestrian than Mercado’s mark, although he has shown somewhat better control (9.4% walk rate). Mercado throws a bit harder than Phillips does and has demonstrated a lot more bat-missing ability in the minor leagues. Phillips, whom the team added to the 40-man roster last week, has a modest 19.8% strikeout rate for the IronPigs. To his credit, Phillips punched out seven hitters across four innings of relief behind Mercado against Atlanta in his big league debut.

The Phillies have built enough of a cushion that they shouldn’t be concerned about some short-term uncertainty in their starting five. They’re eight games clear of the Braves for the division lead and 4.5 games ahead of the Dodgers for the National League’s top seed. An excellent rotation has been a major reason. Philadelphia’s front four of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez is arguably the best in MLB.

The fifth spot is the only question mark. Taijuan Walker allowed a 5.60 ERA over 10 starts before inflammation in his index finger sent him to the injured list a few weeks ago. Spencer Turnbull managed great results as a sixth starter, but he sustained a lat strain that’ll knock him out into August.

Barring injury, the Phils look like the rare contender that doesn’t need to urgently pursue rotation help over the next three weeks. Wheeler’s status is worth monitoring after the Phils lifted him at 76 pitches during tonight’s start. The team announced that the star righty was battling lower back tightness. After the game, skipper Rob Thomson called it a precautionary measure with the Phillies already holding an eight-run lead (X link via Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Thomson suggested the team would evaluate Wheeler tomorrow but indicated the club expects he’ll be fine to make his next start.

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Philadelphia Phillies Michael Mercado Tyler Phillips Zack Wheeler

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Phillies Reinstate Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber; Designate David Dahl For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | July 9, 2024 at 2:35pm CDT

The Phillies announced today that both first baseman Bryce Harper and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber have been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Kody Clemens was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley while outfielder David Dahl was designated for assignment.

The Phils had to subtract two big bats from their lineup when both Harper and Schwarber landed on the 10-day IL back on June 28, Harper due to a left hamstring strain and Schwarber due to a left groin strain. Thankfully, both are now back after just a minimum stay on the shelf with the club managing to go 5-4 without those two.

But to get them back onto the roster, the club is moving on from Dahl. He seemed to be engineering a nice comeback story as of about a month ago, but the magic faded. After several years of injury struggles, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Phillies in February and then demolished Triple-A pitching. He hit 12 home runs in 43 games for the IronPigs and produced a slash of .340/.416/.660 in that time.

He was selected up to the big league club in the first week of June as Brandon Marsh went on the injured list. He seemed to be carrying the good vibes over with a home run in his first game and then another in his third contest of the year, but things have tailed off significantly since then as he has a dismal line of .154/.196/.231 in his 56 most recent plate appearances. He has more than five years of service time and can’t be optioned without his consent, so the Phils have been forced to bump him off the 40-man entirely.

He’ll now be in DFA limbo for a maximum of seven days. Since waivers can take 48 hours, that means the Phils could take five days to try to find a trade partner. Dahl was once a solid regular with the Rockies, slashing .297/.346/.521 in 240 games from 2016 to 2019, but the injury bug has bit him hard since then. He has suffered a lacerated spleen that led to the organ needing to be removed entirely, as well as a stress fracture in his ribcage, a broken foot, a high ankle sprain, a shoulder strain, multiple back injuries and a quad strain.

He has received 390 plate appearances in the majors since the end of the 2019 season but has hit just .200/.237/.318 in those, bouncing to the Rangers, Padres and Phillies. That’s clearly unsatisfactory production but Dahl has the past track record and the recent run of success in Triple-A to start this year. If any club believed in him and gave him a chance, he could be retained via arbitration for the 2025 season. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Bryce Harper David Dahl Kody Clemens Kyle Schwarber

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NL East Notes: Schwarber, Harper, Luzardo, Arcia

By Mark Polishuk | July 7, 2024 at 6:46pm CDT

The Phillies were shut out in today’s 6-0 loss to the Braves, dropping Philadelphia to a respectable 5-4 record in its nine games without injured sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.  The good news is that at least Schwarber will be activated from the 10-day injured list for the Phils’ next game on Tuesday, and Harper seems on track to be activated at some point this week, even if Tuesday is still up in the air for the former NL MVP.

Both players ran the bases prior to today’s game, with MLB.com reporting that Schwarber has now been running at full intensity for two straight days, while Harper was running “either at or close to 100% intensity.”  Schwarber was sidelined with a groin strain and Harper with a hamstring strain, so baserunning is essentially the final step in assessing whether either player is fully ready to return.  While neither injury was thought to be overly serious, it is obviously a great sign for the Phillies that the initial assessment seems to be accurate, so the team won’t have any longer-term concerns about two key members of their everyday lineup.

More from around the NL East…

  • Even though Jesus Luzardo is on the 60-day injured list, teams are still checking in with the Marlins about the left-hander’s availability, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.  Luzardo’s initial IL placement took place on June 19, so he won’t be back until August 18 at the earliest as he recovers from a lumbar stress reaction.  If Luzardo was indeed able to return around that date and return in good form, there would be plenty of time for the southpaw to contribute to a contender for the remainder of the season, yet naturally his health situation would make for some tricky trade negotiations with Miami.  From the Marlins’ perspective, it is hard to imagine they would agree to sell low on one of their top trade chips, especially since Luzardo is still under team control through the 2026 season.
  • Orlando Arcia entered today’s action hitting .209/.245/.332 over 314 plate appearances, and with the lowest wRC+ (58) of any qualified hitter in baseball.  It has been an ugly dropoff for a player who had roughly a league-average 101 wRC+ for the Braves in 2022-23, and Arcia was even an All-Star last season after moving into the starting shortstop role.  Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves are seemingly okay with letting Arcia try to find himself at the plate, since he is at least continuing to deliver strong glovework at the shortstop position.  While Atlanta has been aggressive in promoting prospects in recent years, Toscano doesn’t think the team is considering bringing the hot-hitting Nacho Alvarez up to the majors as a potential replacement for Arcia, as Alvarez only just made his Triple-A debut last month.
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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Notes Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper Jesus Luzardo Kyle Schwarber Orlando Arcia

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Phillies Reportedly Interested In Brent Rooker

By Nick Deeds | July 7, 2024 at 2:47pm CDT

The Phillies are “keeping a close eye on” A’s outfielder Brent Rooker ahead of the trade deadline, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested last month that the club may look to add only modestly ahead of the trade deadline on July 30, and highlighted the bullpen as an area where the team could stand to improve. That’s not to say the Phillies won’t make any additions outside of relief help this summer, however. The club’s 58-31 record entering play today affords them the best winning percentage in baseball, leaving them well-positioned to push for the club’s first World Series championship since 2008 this October.

That doesn’t mean the club lacks holes, however, and outfield production is arguably one of the biggest. With Bryce Harper having moved to first base on a full-time basis and Kyle Schwarber now in an everyday DH role, the lefty sluggers that have worked the outfield corners for the Phillies in recent years have now vacated the outfield grass. Brandon Marsh has performed well when healthy, slashing .265/.346/.414 with a 116 wRC+ while splitting time between all three outfield spots, and veteran slugger Nick Castellanos has begun to heat up in recent weeks and figures to continue acting as the club’s everyday right fielder.

With that being said, each of Johan Rojas, Cristian Pache, and Whit Merrifield have all disappointed offensively this season. While Rojas and Pache both offer valuable defensive in center field and Merrifield’s versatility makes him a useful bench player, none have posted a wRC+ higher than 60 this year despite taking nearly 500 combined at-bats for the Phillies. That’s led the club to resort to using journeyman David Dahl as a left-handed complement to the trio of righties, but while he got off to a hot start in a Phillies uniform earlier this year he’s fallen back to Earth and now sports a meager .207/.242/.397 (75 wRC+) slash line in 19 games with Philadelphia.

It’s easy to see how Rooker would be a perfect fit for the club’s outfield mix. The 29-year-old first broke out with the A’s last year with a 127 wRC+ in 137 games, but he’s taken his offense to another level so far in the 2024 campaign. In 313 trips to the plate with the club this year, Rooker has slashed a fantastic .277/.351/.540 with a wRC+ of 153. While that production has come with a troublesome 32.9% strikeout rate, Rooker has made up for it with a strong 9.9% walk rate and the seventh-highest isolated slugging percentage in the majors.

While .371 BABIP this season is likely too high to be entirely sustainable, advanced metrics are generally buying in on his overall production as his .378 xwOBA is a near match for his .380 wOBA, suggesting that any regression in BABIP should be made up for by his eye-popping 16.4% barrel rate so long as he manages to keep his elite contact quality up going forward. That’s particularly important for Rooker given that the breakout journeyman entered the year with just over two years of service time under his belt. He’s making just over the league minimum this year and would come with three more seasons of team control after this one before becoming a free agent following the 2027 season.

That’s a timeline that lines up nicely with the current window in Philadelphia. Veteran ace Zack Wheeler just signed an extension that will also end following the 2027 season, and youngsters Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott are both also slated to hit free agency following that campaign. Meanwhile stars Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, and Trea Turner will all be entering this mid-30’s at that point and complementary pieces of the current core like Schwarber, Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto will have seen their contracts expire. That Rooker’s years of control line up so cleanly with Philadelphia’s current window of contention could make him all the more attractive to the Phillies.

With that being said, it’s worth pointing out that the club may have other prioritizes ahead of the trade deadline this year. As previously mentioned, Dombrowski has highlighted a desire to improve the club’s bullpen this summer in the past, and he also cautioned last month that the club wasn’t likely to pursue the sort of blockbuster trade where the club would have to “trade three top prospects” to acquire a player.

Relief help isn’t the only other need the club may look to address this summer, either. The club entered the summer with something of an embarrassment of riches in the rotation that forced Spencer Turnbull into a bullpen role despite a 1.67 ERA in six starts back in April, but since then both Taijuan Walker and Turnbull have hit the injured list, leaving the club to rely on rookie Michael Mercado to fill out the club’s rotation behind Wheeler, Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez. With Turnbull not expected back until late August at the earliest and Walker lacking a specific timeline for return, it’s possible the Phillies could look to add a pitcher capable of helping the club either out of the rotation or bullpen depending on their needs at that moment.

Rooker also isn’t the only outfielder expected to be available at the deadline this year, with White Sox veteran Tommy Pham standing out as a rental option who would likely prove cheaper to acquire than Rooker if the Phillies are concerned with the prospect cost involved in acquiring the A’s outfielder. Kevin Pillar of the Angels, Mark Canha of the Tigers, and Jesse Winker of the Nationals are among the other rental veterans playing for teams who could consider selling this summer and would likely cost the Phillies less than a controllable asset like Rooker.

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Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Brent Rooker

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Phillies Select Tyler Phillips

By Darragh McDonald | July 5, 2024 at 3:10pm CDT

The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Phillips. Fellow righty Yunior Marté was optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man, righty Luis Ortiz was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Phillips, 26, has likely been selected to give the club some length out of the bullpen. He has made 15 starts in Triple-A this year, tossing 92 innings, allowing 4.89 earned runs per nine. His 19.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.4% walk rate is fine and he’s been getting grounders at a strong 50.9% clip.

The Philly rotation took a couple of hits recently, with Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull landing on the IL in fairly quick succession. They still have a strong front four consisting of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, but the fifth spot is a bit shakier. Michael Mercado is in that spot for now but he has just six innings of major league experience to this point.

Nola and Suárez are scheduled to go the next two days with Mercado on Sunday. If there’s any need for someone to eat innings, that could perhaps be Phillips, since he’s been stretched out for a starting role in the minors.

If that comes to pass, Phillips will be making his major league debut, though he’s been on a 40-man roster before. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and that club added him to their 40-man roster back in November 2019, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had tossed 131 innings in the minors that year with a 3.71 ERA, getting heaps of ground balls.

The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Phillips struggled in 2021, going to the Phillies on a waiver claim. The Phils passed him through waivers shortly thereafter and the righty needed Tommy John surgery at the end of that season, missing all of 2022. Last year, he had a 4.92 ERA in 122 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

As for Ortiz, he started the year on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain. He started a rehab assignment but that was shut down and manager Rob Thomson said last week that the righty will be having Tommy John surgery on July 11, per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation on X. He’ll miss the remainder of the season and a big portion of 2025 as well.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Luis Ortiz Tyler Phillips Yunior Marte

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Michael Mercado Joining Phillies’ Rotation

By Steve Adams | June 28, 2024 at 10:06pm CDT

The Phillies have seen a pair of starters go down with injuries in the past week, as Taijuan Walker hit the injured list with a hand injury and Spencer Turnbull will be out up to eight weeks due to a lat strain. That’s left a vacancy at the back of Philly’s rotation, and it’ll be filled — at least in the short-term — by 25-year-old righty Michael Mercado, reports Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A second-round pick by the Rays in 2017, Mercado’s journey to Philadelphia’s big league staff in some ways mirrors that of new rotation-mate Christopher Sanchez. Both were traded from the Rays to the Phillies in prospect-for-prospect swaps that drew minimal attention at the time of the deal. Sanchez’s trade became one of note, as he’s risen his profile while infielder Curtis Mead (who went back to the Rays) emerged as one of Tampa Bay’s top prospects. Mercado is newer to the Phillies organization, having been acquired last November in exchange for minor league lefty Adam Leverett.

Since landing with the Phillies, Mercado’s results have been excellent. He’s pitched in 14 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, 10 of them starts, and posted a sterling 1.71 ERA in 47 1/3 frames. His 22.8% strikeout rate, 11.9% walk rate and .240 average on balls in play all suggest that ERA could be in for some regression, but it’s been a big step forward over his 2023 performance even if the microscopic earned run average doesn’t look entirely sustainable.

Mercado split the ’23 season between Double-A and Triple-A in the Rays’ system and worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen, pitching to a combined 4.79 ERA. To his credit, he fanned a massive 35.4% of his opponents working in short relief where his stuff could play up, but he also walked more than 13% of his opponents and surrendered a dozen longballs in 62 innings (1.74 HR/9).

At the time he was drafted, Mercado required an over-slot commitment to forgo his college commitment to Stanford. Baseball America called him “one of the most polished and projectable high school pitchers” in the 2017 draft class, ranking him as that year’s No. 48 draft prospect. He jumped right into the Rays’ top 15 prospects the following season. He suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament not long after the draft, however, wiping out his entire 2019 season. Like all other minor leaguers, he also lost the 2020 season when the Covid-19 pandemic led MLB to cancel the minor league campaign entirely. Home runs and walks continued to outweigh Mercado’s strong strikeout numbers throughout the remaining three years of his Rays tenure.

Now, with the Phillies in need of rotation help, Mercado will get a short-term look at the very least. Turnbull is out until at least mid-August. Walker won’t be eligible to return until at least July 7 and has struggled to an ugly 5.60 ERA in 10 starts even when healthy this season. Top Phillies pitching prospect Andrew Painter has yet to pitch this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The organization’s other top-ranked arm, former first-rounder Mick Abel, has an alarming 7.08 ERA and 15.5% walk rate in Triple-A this season. Depth options on the 40-man roster like Kolby Allard and Max Castillo have also pitched poorly in Triple-A.

All of that has paved the way for Mercado to get his first big league starting opportunity, more than seven years after he was selected with the No. 40 overall pick in the draft. The Phillies have one of the most enviable starting staffs in MLB with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and the aforementioned Sanchez leading the way, which should take some pressure off Mercado. But depending on how long Walker is out and how he and Mercado perform in the short-term, the former Rays prospect could pitch his way into a more prominent role with the Phils. Mercado already made his MLB debut this week, tossing one scoreless inning after being called up as a reliever, but a larger opportunity is now there for the taking.

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Philadelphia Phillies Michael Mercado Spencer Turnbull Taijuan Walker

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Phillies To Place Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | June 28, 2024 at 1:55pm CDT

The Phillies are taking two big hits today, announcing that both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are going on the 10-day injured list. Harper has a left hamstring strain while Schwarber has a left groin strain. They have reinstated infielder Kody Clemens from the injured list and recalled outfielder Johan Rojas in corresponding moves.

Schwarber exited last night’s game with left groin tightness. Harper was clearly injured on the final play of the game, as he limped to first base after attempting to run out a ground ball. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported the IL placements for Harper and Schwarber prior to the official announcement, adding that both injuries are fairly mild, as Harper has a low-grade hamstring strain and could be back by July 9, but the Phils might also let him stay on the IL through the July 15-18 All-Star break for some extra rest. Schwarber’s left groin strain is mild enough that he could be back after the 10-day minimum.

The fact that both issues are fairly mild is undoubtedly good news, but the two absences will still be a challenge for the Phils. Schwarber is having yet another excellent season at the plate in his typical fashion, blending power and patience. He has a 16.1% walk rate and 17 home runs, leading to a .250/.373/.447 batting line and 133 wRC+. Harper has 20 homers, a 14% walk rate, .303/.399/.582 batting line, 169 wRC+ and the defensive metrics like his work at first base.

The Phillies have the best record in baseball at 53-28 but losing two of the better hitters in the game, even for a short time, is obviously less than ideal. It also adds to a growing injury problem, as J.T. Realmuto, Taijuan Walker, Spencer Turnbull and others are already on the IL.

Given the club’s strong record and the fact that the injuries aren’t too serious, it’s not a catastrophe, but the club will have to improvise for a little bit. Clemens was in good form before landing on the IL, as he currently has a .256/.293/.615 line on the year. But that was in a small sample size of 41 plate appearances, with all but six of those coming with the lefty swinger facing right-handed pitching. Perhaps he and Alec Bohm could share first base, with the right swinging Edmundo Sosa covering third base when a left-hander is on the mound. Sosa performed well when Trea Turner was on the IL but has had less playing time since Turner returned.

Schwarber’s IL placement does come with one silver lining, which is that the club will have more ability to rotate players into the DH slot. That could perhaps allow them to put Nick Castellanos in there fairly regularly, as he’s generally not considered to be an especially strong defender. Rojas is a strong defender but was optioned not too long ago as he struggled offensively. If Castellanos is in the DH slot, Rojas would be part of an outfield group that also includes Brandon Marsh, David Dahl, Cristian Pache and Whit Merrifield.

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Newsstand Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper Johan Rojas Kody Clemens Kyle Schwarber

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