Even on the best teams in Major League Baseball, not every player is having their best season. And that has even been the case for the Philadelphia Phillies, owners of the best record in the game this season.
At 61-32, the Phillies are running away with the National League East and are riding high off their sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But not everyone on the roster has been performing up to snuff.
The Phillies have had a deep starting lineup all season, but seemingly no one has been able to produce off the bench. And on Friday, they cut bait with one of the veterans they were counting on to be a big part of that bench.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported Friday that the Phillies were releasing veteran utilityman Whit Merrifield, with longtime minor leaguer Weston Wilson being called up in Merrifield’s place.
It’s been a stunning season for Merrifield, who played in his third career All-Star Game as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays almost exactly a year ago. After signing a one-year, $8 million contract in Philadelphia, Merrifield has struggled to regain his All-Star form.
In 53 games played this season, Merrifield slashed .199/.277/.295, which would make him one of the five worst hitters in MLB if he had enough at-bats to qualify. Wilson, meanwhile, is 0-for-4 in the big leagues this season but had an .827 OPS in Triple-A.
The timing of his release coincides with an interaction Merrifield had on X/Twitter on Wednesday, in which he replied to a Phillies fan asking if even Merrifield’s family wore his jersey anymore.
“Obviously not. In fact, they all changed their last names by May 1! Hoping to get them to change it back by October. They did buy all 3 of my All Star jerseys though…” Merrifield said, adding a winking emoji.
It was a surprise for Merrifield to sign with Philadelphia in the first place, given how set the Phillies were at all their infield positions. Merrifield can play corner outfield but has stated in the past that he is most comfortable as an everyday second baseman.
Merrifield had also never played fewer than 139 games in a full-length season before 2024, so it seemingly didn’t prove easy to adjust to a reserve role.
A three-time All-Star, two-time hits leader, and career .281 hitter, it’s likely Merrifield will get another shot to prove he still belongs in the big leagues. At 35, the onus is on him to prove his Phillies tenure was just a blip on the radar.
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Author(s)
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey, where he is a broadcast associate for the MLB Network.
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