Whit Merrifield
For one of the Phillies’ biggest offseason free agent signings, Whit Merrifield has turned out to be a huge disappointment thus far in his tenure with the club. After revitalizing his career with an All-Star season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, the Phillies fully expected more of the same from the veteran utilityman, especially now with the added motivation of playing for a legitimate contender.
However, after teasing the Phillies and their faithful with an outstanding spring training, Merrifield has fallen flat up until now. In 38 games, he has compiled a dreadful .193 batting average and .581 OPS, which are by far the worst numbers posted over his nine-year career. With just three home runs and nine RBI with more than one-third of the schedule completed already, he's on pace for less than 10 home runs and 30 RBI for the entire season.
Perhaps you may credit his miserable numbers to the fact that he hasn’t been an everyday player like he has been for most of his career. But as a proven veteran and a former league leader in hits during his prime with the Kansas City Royals, you would at least expect Merrifield to provide a reasonable level of offense.
With the emergence of the strong play of utility infielder Edmundo Sosa and the eventual return of Trea Turner in the coming days, Merrifield could find himself the odd man out in the roster shuffling and could soon see himself without much of a defined role going forward.