Former Guardians OF Oscar Mercado claimed by Philadelphia Phillies

Former Guardians outfielder Oscar Mercado has found a new home in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Phillies have claimed former Guardians outfielder Oscar Mercado off waivers, and he’ll be added to the 26-man roster when he reports to the team.

Mercado, 27, hit .202/.227/.377 with four home runs and six doubles and 16 RBIs in 114 at-bats with Cleveland this season. In his career spanning four seasons with the Guardians, Mercado hit .235/.287/.388 in 932 at-bats, and could just never recapture the success he had in his 2019 rookie season, in which he hit .269 with 15 home runs and 25 doubles and finished eighth in the AL Rookie of the Year vote.

Though he was considered more of a matchup outfielder as a right-handed bat in the lineup, Mercado actually hit worse against left-handed pitching in 2022 (.189 vs. .213 against righties). And as a number of young players continue to legitimately push for playing time (with the rookie Oscar Gonzalez really pushing the issue), there was simply no justifying keeping Mercado on the roster and he was designated for assignment earlier this month.

For the Phillies, they will be looking at any and all ways to try and fill the void left by Bryce Harper, who has a broken left thumb after being hit by Padres pitcher Blake Snell over the weekend. Mercado will at least serve as a stopgap until Philadelphia is able to make another move, possibly at the trade deadline.