Oscar Mercado’s second stint in the Philadelphia Phillies organization came to an end over the weekend. The 30-year-old outfielder opted out of his minor league deal, and was granted his release by the Phillies, adding another intriguing player to the post-deadline free agent market.
Mercado, a second round pick in 2013 by the St Louis Cardinals, burst on to the scene in 2019 as a member of the (then) Cleveland Indians with a strong rookie season. He finished the campaign with a .269 average to go along with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs, and he finished in the top 10 of Rookie of the Year voting. He spent his first four years in Cleveland before being designated for assignment and ultimately landing with the Phillies.
Oscar Mercado's second Phillies stint ends with opt-out and release
Mercado’s initial stint with the Phillies was ultimately short-lived, as he appeared in just one game with the team before having his roster spot taken by Bailey Falter in 2022. His release from Philadelphia lead to a reunion with the Cleveland Guardians organization for the remainder of the 2022 season.
After bouncing around the league over the course of the last two years, Mercado found his way back to the Phillies when he signed a minor league contract in February with an invitation to spring training. In 92 games this year for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at the Triple-A level, he hit .252 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs and added 35 stolen bases. He showed an innate ability to get on base as well as he posted a .373 on base percentage which ranked second on the team behind Justin Crawford.
Ultimately, Mercado triggered the opt-out clause in his contract over the weekend, which led to his release from the Phillies and put him on the open market.
This did not come as a surprise given the recent addition of Harrison Bader at the major league level and the demotion of Johan Rojas to Lehigh Valley. A path to the major league roster appeared hard to come by for the center fielder. Given his steady play at Triple-A and his past production at the major league level, Mercado could provide teams with depth as the regular season winds down either in the minor leagues or as a potential September call-up.
As the Phillies continue to figure out their outfield situation, they will have to do so without one of their big minor league contributors in Oscar Mercado.