The Philadelphia Phillies continue to look impressive throughout the season as they are holding the best record in Major League Baseball with a 61-32 record. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb is reporting that the team has decided to release utility man Whit Merrifield from their roster and allow him to be a free agent. He has struggled offensively as he has appeared in 53 games and had recorded a .572 OPS with three home runs, 11 RBIs, and 21 runs scored while stealing 11 bases on 12 attempts.
He was signed to a one-year, $8 million contract during the offseason but it is interesting to see the Philadelphia Phillies elected to release him instead of finding a trade partner.
What does this mean for the Philadelphia Phillies going forward?
The Philadelphia Phillies have been doing incredibly well throughout the season and their ability to have everything firing on all cylinders continues to be a reason why they are dominating. With this move, they are eating a little less than $4 million as his contract is guaranteed regardless of this move.
The Phillies lineup has been dominant as they have been inside of the top six of every major statistical category as a team. However, with the emergence of Johan Rojas in this lineup, the Philadelphia Phillies did not need Whit Merrifield to sit on the bench and play a few times each week.
As a corresponding move, the team is calling up Weston Wilson, who has been playing at Triple-A and filing that same role Merrifield was taking. The team has a lot of talent and could be in the position to add a more experienced outfielder at the trade deadline like the Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert.
The Philadelphia Phillies have showcased their dominance on the field throughout the season and need to continue putting separation between themselves and the rest of the Nationa League if they want to continue holding onto the top record in MLB. However, there is no signs of worry for this Phillies team right now and they are going to be measured by how they perform in October. It will be interesting to see which teams are interested in Whit Merrifield as he will be available for the league minimum for the rest of the season.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
