The Philadelphia Phillies re-signed outfielder Oscar Mercado, who was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, to a minor league contract today, per his profile on MLB.com.
Philadelphia also signed him to a minor league deal in February, but Mercado was released by the organization on Aug. 4. During his first stint with the team, he recorded a .252/.373/.385 slash line with 9 homers and 54 RBI over 92 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Not much has changed in the 10 days Mercado was gone from the team. The Phillies’ outfield rotation is set with Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler. Harrison Bader is also in the mix after he was traded from Minnesota at the deadline.
As a result, Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors doesn’t think Mercado will get playing time at the major league level.
“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,” he wrote.
30-year-old Mercado was originally signed by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2013 draft. He bounced around St. Louis’ farm system for years and didn’t make his MLB debut until 2019 with Cleveland.
Mercado rejoined the Cardinals by signing a minor league contract with the club before the 2023 season. He appeared in 20 games that year for St. Louis and recorded a .290/.313/.387 slash line, but he was designated for assignment midway through the season. He hasn’t played in a major league game since.
The Phillies currently lead the NL East with a 69-51 record—5.0 games ahead of the New York Mets—and began a four-game series against the Washington Nationals tonight.