The Philadelphia Phillies brought back outfielder Oscar Mercado on a minor league contract, per his profile on MLB.com. It’s the second time this year they’ve signed the 30-year-old.
Philadelphia originally inked Mercado to a minor league deal back in February, but released him on Aug. 4. Now he’s back just 10 days later.
During his first stint with the organization, Mercado posted a .252/.373/.385 slash line with 9 homers and 54 RBI over 92 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Those aren’t terrible numbers, but the timing makes this move pretty interesting.
The Phillies’ outfield situation hasn’t really changed since they cut him. Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler are locked into the rotation, with Harrison Bader also in the mix after coming over from Minnesota at the deadline.
That’s why Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors doesn’t see much of a path to the majors for Mercado.
“He’ll provide them with some non-roster depth but it could take a few injuries for his services to be required in the majors,” McDonald wrote.
Journeyman Career
Mercado’s been around the block. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in the second round back in 2013, and he spent years grinding through their farm system before finally making his MLB debut with Cleveland in 2019.
He circled back to the Cardinals on a minor league contract before the 2023 season and actually got some big league time. Mercado appeared in 20 games that year for St. Louis, hitting .290/.313/.387, but they designated him for assignment midway through the season.
He hasn’t seen major league action since.
The way I see it, this is purely about organizational depth. The Phillies are sitting pretty at 69-51 and leading the NL East by 5.0 games over the New York Mets. They started a four-game series against Washington tonight, and with the postseason in sight, having veteran depth stashed in Triple-A makes sense.
Sometimes it’s not about the flashy moves. Sometimes it’s about having guys like Mercado ready if things go sideways.
