Philadelphia waives triple-A star Whit Merrifield in $8M flop

This is not what the Phillies envisioned when they signed Whit Merrifield to a one-year, $8 million contract during the offseason.

But the three-time All-Star struggled so badly that Philadelphia, the MLB’s top team, had no choice but to cut him on Friday, calling up Weston Wilson from the third base to replace him.

Merrifield, 35, was one of the stars of last season with the Blue Jays, but had to settle for a part-time reliever role during free agency.

He never found his footing in Philadelphia, where he hit .199 with a .572 OPS, three home runs and 11 RBIs in 174 plate appearances in 53 games.

As mentioned The athleteMerrifield’s average exit velocity is 83 mph, which ranks last among the 325 batters who have put at least 100 balls in play this season.

“I’ve been a farm manager and field coordinator, and I’ve been laid off a lot of times and had to fire a lot of people, and this was one of the toughest situations I’ve ever been in,” Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thompson He told reporters Merrifield release date Friday.

“He’s the person, the teammate, the man at the club. I personally liked him very much.”

Last season, while playing second base and left field for Toronto, Merrifield posted a .272 batting average with an OPS of .700, 11 home runs and 67 RBIs.

He was an All-Star twice during his six seasons with the Royals, including in 2019, when he led the majors with 206 hits and 10 triples.

Merrifield, who made his MLB debut in 2016 at age 27, has hit 40 doubles three times and 40 steals twice in his career.

Philadelphia entered Friday with a 61-32 record and ended the first half with a three-game home series against the Athletics.