Merrifield lands on second team in first year after leaving Blue Jays

Former Toronto Blue Jays utility infielder Whit Merrifield has once again found himself on the move, one season removed from his final game for the team.

Merrifield, who spent parts of the past two seasons in Toronto, will sign a new contract with the Atlanta Braves.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was among the first to report the news on X.

Superutilityman Whit Merrifield and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a major league deal, sources tell ESPN. Merrifield was released recently by Philadelphia. He’ll join the Braves today and help provide depth after the injury to All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 22, 2024

Last week, Merrifield was designated for assignment by the Philadelphia Phillies before eventually being released.

The Blue Jays acquired Merrifield late in the 2022 season in a trade with the Kansas City Royals just prior to the MLB trade deadline. Despite limited playing time for the remainder of 2022, Merrifield was a key piece of Toronto’s roster to begin the 2023 season and was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the third time in his career.

Merrifield’s numbers regressed over the second half of the 2023 season, however, and the Blue Jays decided to let him hit free agency. He settled on a one-year, $8 million deal with the Phillies.

Merrifield’s up-and-down performances at the plate appear to have followed him to Philadelphia this year. Through 53 games, he has a batting average of just .199 and a .572 OPS.

Interestingly, he’ll go from the first-place team in the National League East to the second-place team in the same division, with the Braves currently 8.5 games back of the Phillies in the playoff hunt. With the Braves holding the first NL Wild Card spot, there’s an outside chance he winds up facing one of his former teams in the postseason this year.

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