Phillies Sign Outfielder for His Third Stint With the Team

The Phillies added familiar outfield depth on Tuesday by agreeing to a minor-league contract with 31-year-old Oscar Mercado, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Mercado has extensive center field experience in both the majors and minors. This is his third stint with the Phillies. He took one big-league at-bat for them in 2022, then played 115 games last season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, hitting .249/.369/.373 with 40 stolen bases, 69 walks and 68 strikeouts.

Mercado was in spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was released on Monday. The Phillies, hungry for center field depth, quickly brought him back.

Needed a CF

The Phils lost Johan Rojas this month to an 80-game PED suspension that will also deem him ineligible for postseason play. It left them thin at center field in the upper levels of the minor leagues, with Pedro Leon the only real option if Justin Crawford suffers an injury.

Even though he has not hit enough in 250 major-league games, Rojas did continue to serve a role here as the first right-handed-hitting option in center field should a need arise. The Phillies plan to play Crawford every day in center and platoon Brandon Marsh in left field with Otto Kemp. Marsh is capable of playing center, as well. But if one of Crawford or Marsh suffers an injury, Rojas would have probably been the first call. He was also relevant if Crawford drastically underperformed against lefties.

Leon, and now Mercado, help protect against those worst-case scenarios. Utilityman Dylan Moore also has 105 innings of major-league experience in center, though it's unclear if the Phillies would actually play him there.

Mercado's background

Mercado was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the second round in 2013, four picks after the Phillies selected catcher Andrew Knapp. Mercado was traded to Cleveland at the 2018 deadline and received the most playing time of his career as a rookie in 2019, hitting .269 with a .761 OPS, 25 doubles, 15 home runs and 15 steals in 482 plate appearances. He finished eighth that year in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

But he struggled mightily in the abbreviated 2020 season, hitting just .128, and never recaptured a regular role in Cleveland. Mercado was designated for assignment in June 2022 and claimed by the Phillies. He had one at-bat, then was DFA'd by the Phils as well and reclaimed by the Guardians a week later.

He's spent the bulk of the last three seasons at Triple A, where he has 2,264 career plate appearances and 272 games in center field.

Other outfielders

Corner outfielder Bryan De La Cruz will also play at Triple-A and could find himself in the majors this season if Adolis Garcia, Marsh or Kemp get hurt. De La Cruz was the Dominican Winter League MVP, then hit the ball hard throughout spring training with results to show for it.

Dante Nori, the Phillies' 2024 first-round pick, has started 110 games in center in the minors but has only a handful of games above Single-A. The 21-year-old was a standout in the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy and was even named to the WBC All-Tournament Team. He built a ton of confidence this month, opening some eyes along the way.

Lefty-hitting corner outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. is one more name to keep in the back of your mind because of his power. He had a chance to compete for an Opening Day roster spot this spring but was held up by knee tendinitis that dated back to the offseason.