Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. A little more than a week ago, pitcher Nabil Crismatt and outfielder Oscar Mercado both opted out of their minor league deals with the Phillies. It was the second time that Crismatt had done so and this time, he found another place of employment on a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mercado was not so lucky and has returned to the Phillies after re-signing the deal he originally had with the team.

Mercado was assigned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after signing the deal. Outfielder Cal Stevenson was placed on the Injured List, which opened a roster spot for Mercado’s return.

Mercado, who has played in the majors with Cleveland, Colorado, and Philadelphia, played in 92 games prior to opting out of his contract and was batting .252/.373/.385 with 35 stolen bases with Lehigh Valley, having played all three outfield spots with the team this season. Lehigh Valley will now have top offensive prospect Justin Crawford, recently demoted outfielder Johan Rojas, Mercado, and Stevenson (when healthy) as the top outfielders on their roster. Another former MLB outfielder, Brewer Hicklen, was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in late July and is also in the mix for time in the outfield.