Philadelphia Phillies Still Waiting For Production From Top Offseason Addition

The Philadelphia Phillies didn't do a whole lot this offseason in terms of adding, but the one player they did bring in hasn't quite lived up to expectations so far.

May 4, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Whit Merrifield (9) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. | John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

It's been an incredible season for the Philadelphia Phillies so far, sitting with the best record in baseball entering Tuesday's slate of games.

They've hit a bit of a rough patch recently, losing a series against the Colorado Rockies over the weekend and dropping their opener against the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

That's to be expected over the course of this long season, especially with some potential regression looming.

However, the Phillies are so deep across their entire roster that they should expect multiple players to perform well when others are in a bit of a slump.

So far, that's been the case.

Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, and Brandon Marsh were carrying the offense early. Then Edmundo Sosa stepped up with the superstar shortstop sidelined. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott then entered into the hot-hitting mix.

When the calendar flips to June, expect Kyle Schwarber to start heating up, and hopefully, Nick Castellanos can find himself at the plate.

The other thing Philadelphia is hoping for is to have Whit Merrifield become the super utilityman they signed him to be this offseason.

Things weren't quite the Hot Stove for the Phillies during the winter as they prioritized getting Aaron Nola back onto their roster with a long-term contract and swinging for the fences to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto instead of pursuing other big names.

When that didn't happen, it was fairly quiet except for extending Zack Wheeler and adding Merrifield.

He decided to join the team despite not having a guaranteed starting spot because he wanted an opportunity to play for a contender. It was his goal to force manager Rob Thomson into giving him more playing time by performing well on the field during his opportunities.

It hasn't quite worked out that way for the 35-year-old veteran.

Merrifield is slashing .181/.260/.277 with just two homers, five extra-base hits, and four RBI across 29 games and 94 at-bats. This would easily be the worst season he's ever had from a production standpoint.

That shouldn't be overly surprising.

It's difficult to get into a rhythm when not playing everyday like he's used to, but he's certainly looked like a different hitter than the one who's posted a career 101 OPS+ and .281 batting average.

Merrifield is too good not to find some production at the plate eventually.

When he does, he becomes another weapon this team can call upon when it matters, which is the exact reason why he came to Philadelphia.