It didn’t take long for Michael Mercado to find gainful employment. Just a few days after non-tendering the 26-year-old right-hander, the Phillies have re-signed Mercado to a minor league contract.

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Mercado with the fourth pick in the second round of the 2017 Draft and the Phillies acquired him two years ago for right-hander Adam Leverett and cash. Since joining the Phillies, Mercado has spent the majority of his time at Triple-A Lehigh Valley with limited time in the majors. In 2 starts and 6 relief appearances in the majors, Mercado is 1-2 with an 11.81 ERA. With Lehigh Valley he has put together a 9-2, 3.11 record. In 2024 he started the season in the bullpen for the IronPigs before moving to the rotation after four scoreless relief appearances covering 6.1 innings. In 10 starts, he went 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA striking out 39 hitters in 41 innings of work.

His numbers were good enough for him to get called up to Philadelphia and make his MLB debut. Pitching in relief, he threw a shutout inning against the Tigers and then allowed 1 earned run in a 5 inning start at Wrigley Field for the Phillies. His next start against Atlanta and another relief outing saw him allow 11 earned runs in 5.2 innings, prompting the Phillies to return him to Lehigh Valley.

Last season, Mercado had a 7.11 ERA in 17 relief appearances with Lehigh Valley, but was again recalled when the Phillies needed an extra arm out of the bullpen. He struggled through three relief appearances with Philadelphia to the tune of a 15.00 ERA and was again optioned back to Triple-A.

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