Former Guardians outfielder finds familiar landing spot with Philadelphia Phillies 

In 2019, Óscar Mercado staked his claim as franchise cornerstone for the Cleveland Guardians. While Cleveland ended up missing out on the postseason that year, Mercado made an impact with his glove, legs and bat and ended up finishing in eighth in that year’s American League Rookie of the Year voting. 

It seemed like he was going to be a mainstay in the outfield for years to come. 

That never came to fruition, however, as he struggled through the truncated 2020 season and was eventually designated for assignment by the Guardians less than two years later. 

His career has gone down a winding and twisting path since, and it gained another twist earlier this week when he signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, marking a return to the first franchise he played for after he left Cleveland. 

Former Guardian Óscar Mercado is going to be a depth outfielder for the Phillies in 2026 

Mercado had previously been in camp with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he hit .242 with three RBI and three doubles in 12 games.

Arizona released him as they worked on cutting down their roster ahead of Opening Day and he quickly found a new home with the Phillies, where he’ll likely start the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. 

That’ll be a homecoming for Mercado, who spent all of season at Lehigh Valley and posted a .249/.369/.373 slashline with 11 home runs, 64 RBI and an eye-popping 40 steals.

Those stats are about in line with how he performed in his rookie year with Cleveland, as he had an impressive .269/.318/.443 slashline with 15 home runs, 54 RBI and 15 steals. 

But he eventually got lapped in the outfield and was sent off the roster in June, where he landed with the Phillies for the first time. He played in one MLB game with the Phillies that season (and struck out in his only at-bat) before playing in 20 big league games with the Cardinals in 2023. 

That time with the Cardinals is the last big league action he’s seen, as he spent 2024 in the Padres and Tigers’ system before his aforementioned stint in Triple-A with the Phillies last season. 

He elected minor league free agency last August but signed another minor league contract with the Phillies two weeks later and rejoined Lehigh Valley. 

While Mercado didn’t make it to the big leagues with the Phillies last season, he may have a better chance to do so this year thanks to Philadelphia's outfield picture. 

Adolis García, Brandon Marsh and top prospect Justin Crawford are in line to get a bulk of the playing time in the outfield, but all of them come with their own respective question marks. 

Dylan Moore and Otto Kemp are set to split the backup duties thanks to Johan Rojas being suspended for PEDs, but neither of them are true outfielders. 

It may be a cliché, but it truly does seem like Mercado is just a phone call away from the Phillies’ big league roster.