This past winter, the Philadelphia Phillies front staff made a point of bringing in extra starting pitching depth through a number of minor league agreements and off-the-radar trades. After a string of excellent starts in Taijuan Walker’s place, Spencer Turnbull, a right-handed pitcher, has appeared to be a steal for the Phillies.
The trade of two underappreciated minor league pitchers between the two teams, Adam Leverett and 24-year-old right-hander Michael Mercado, for Mercado in November hardly made news in the baseball world. Mercado, a previous top prospect, was selected in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft and was coming off a lackluster 2023 season in which he had unimpressive numbers in Double- and Triple-A.
While his power arm seemed to bounce back nicely from Tommy John surgery in 2019, Mercado still had room for development as the Rays bounced him back and forth from the starting rotation to various bullpen roles. In 52 appearances (two starts), Mercado went 4-3 with a 4.79 ERA, including six saves in 10 opportunities. In 62 innings, Mercado struck out 95 batters while walking 35, finishing the season with a 1.43 WHIP. The 12 home runs he allowed was an obvious problem.
In the little time he spent in spring training with the Phillies this year, Mercado showed flashes of greatness. Despite walking just one hitter and recording ten strikeouts, he left major league camp with an ERA of 6.35 after making five outings and giving up eight hits.
The Phillies saw signs of a pitcher who might eventually be useful to the major league team, but more time in Triple-A was obviously going to be required.
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