BRADENTON, Fla — Johan Rojas’ continued offensive struggles were the story of Sunday’s 9-7 Grapefruit League win by the Philadelphia Phillies over the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a more positive trend seems to be emerging on the pitching side of things.
Reliever Michael Mercado struck out two Pirates Sunday afternoon over a hitless inning of work, including the uber-talented Oneil Cruz, who already had homered twice in the game. Since giving up three runs against the Toronto Blue Jays in his Spring Training debut on Feb. 24, Mercado has allowed just one run and struck out nine batters over four appearances.
He’s certainly impressed manager Rob Thomson.
“Great stuff,” Thomson said of Mercado after Sunday’s appearance. “Big fastball. In fact, it was 95-97 [mph] today. I think there’s a little bit more in there too. His breaking ball is good. He seems very calm, very poised. He’s a guy.”
A second-round pick by the Rays in the 2017 MLB Draft, the Phillies acquired him in a trade with Tampa Bay this past November, giving up minor-league pitcher Adam Leverett and cash considerations. He had a 4.79 ERA in 52 games between Double-A Durham and Triple-A Montgomery in the Rays system a season ago. He’s on the 40-man roster, but has three remaining minor-league options. From that sense, he’s probably a long shot to be in the Phillies bullpen on March 28.
Five of the Phillies Opening Day bullpen spots are accounted for by José Alvarado, Seranthony Domínguez, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto and Matt Strahm. Orion Kerkering and Spencer Turnbull have a good chance to occupy two of the remaining bullpen spots, and given that Connor Brogdon is out of minor-league options, he might be the eighth reliever in the bullpen to start the season.
But if Mercado continues to impress, the Phillies will have to consider finding a spot for him on the Opening Day roster.
“Possibly, yeah,” Thomson said when asked if Mercado has an outside shot to be in the bullpen to open the season. “If he keeps throwing the ball the way he is right now, it’s either he’s in the mix or he’s depth.”
The next hurdle for Mercado to clear is going to be pitching multiple innings, with the thought that he could give the Phillies a bulk option, whether he’s on the MLB roster to start the season or one of the first choices to be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
“We’re gonna build him up,” Thomson revealed. “So next time out, he’s gonna probably go two [innings], and the following time he’s probably gonna go three [innings].”
The best trade that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has made since joining the Phillies was acquiring the aforementioned Alvarado in December of 2020. Perhaps he’s struck gold on another trade with Tampa Bay.
