Last offseason one of the Philadelphia Phillies’ free-agent signings was utility infielder Whit Merrifield.
An offseason later, he’s considering retirement.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, who covers the Atlanta Braves, wrote in his Braves roster preview that Merrifield was a good fit in Atlanta late last season, but the soon-to-be 36-year-old player is considering retirement. The reason would be to spend more time with family.
Merrifield really wasn’t able to make an impact with the Phillies, as he played in only 53 games and slashed .199/.277/.295/.572 with three home runs and 11 RBI.
Philadelphia released Merrifield on July 12. Ten days later he signed with Atlanta. He had a much better slash line with the Braves, as he batted .248/.348/.336/.684 with one home run and four RBI.
For the season, he slashed .222/.311/.314/.625 with four home runs and 15 RBI.
His short stay in Philly was not indicative of his play throughout his career.
Before joining the Phillies, he spent 2023 with Toronto. In 145 games with Toronto, he slashed .272/.318/.382/.700 with 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He also made the All-Star game.
Merrifield was the Kansas City Royals’ ninth-round pick in 2010 out of South Carolina. He needed nearly six years to get to the Majors, as he made his debut with the Royals in 2016, playing 81 games.
He became a reliable, productive player for the Royals, especially from 2019-21, during which he played in every game and led the Majors in at-bats each of those seasons.
If this is it for Merrifield, he finished his career with a slash line of .280/.328/.413/.741 with 256 doubles, 29 triples, 94 home runs and 485 RBI. He made the All-Star team three times and was 17th in American League MVP voting in 2018.
He led the Majors in hits in both 2018 and 2019, in doubles and triples once and in stolen bases three times, including a career-high of 40 in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are preparing to start preparations for the 2025 season next month in Clearwater, Fla. They’ll head to spring training hoping to make the playoffs for the fourth straight season, dating back to 2022 when they reached the World Series and lost to the Houston Astros in seven games.