A former Toronto Blue Jay has found a new home.
Whit Merrifield has agreed to a major-league contract with the Atlanta Braves, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Monday.
However, Merrifield’s Braves career got off to a rough start after the 2023 All-Star took a ball off his throwing finger while taking ground balls on Monday.
The 35-year-old went for X-rays, which came back negative and revealed no fracture, according to The Athletic’s David O’Brien.
Merrifield is considered day-to-day.
“You can’t make it up,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker.
The Braves said after Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals that Albies is expected to miss about eight weeks with a fractured left wrist. Albies was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday. The team hopes Albies avoids surgery.
“They casted him up and it’s clean,” Snitker said.
The Braves optioned outfielder Eli White to Triple-A Gwinnett following Sunday’s game. To make room on the 40-man roster for Merrifield, outfielder Forrest Wall was designated for assignment.
Merrifield, who spent all of last season with the Jays, was released last week by the Philadelphia Phillies.
After being dealt by the Royals at the 2022 deadline, Merrifield suited up for 189 games during his Blue Jays stint, and hit .277, with a .735 OPS. In his first and only full season as a Jay the following year, Merrifield totalled 149 hits in 145 games, 11 of which were home runs, along with 67 RBI and 26 stolen bases, earning him his third All-Star appearance.
Merrifield signed a one-year, $8-million contract with Philadelphia in the off-season, where he struggled to find that same 2023-level success. Turned into the team’s primary bench option, he appeared in 53 games for the Phillies, recording a .199 batting average with a .572 OPS, both of which were career lows.
Merrifield was subsequently cut by the Phillies on July 12, leading to the Braves’ signing on Monday.
The Braves will pay Merrifield $278,495, a prorated share of the $740,000 major league minimum. The Phillies are responsible for the remainder of his $7 million salary plus a $1 million buyout of his 2025 option.
Merrifield has split the majority of his career between the corner-outfield and second base. The Braves will be leaning on the latter as they were seeking infield depth after the injury to All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies, who is expected to be out eight weeks with a fractured wrist.
The Braves recalled infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. from Triple-A Gwinnett along with bringing in Merrifield.
Even before Merrifield’s mishap during infield drills, the Braves had Alvarez starting at second base and hitting second.
“Put him in amongst the guys,” Snitker said. “His swing has been hot, so why not?”
Alvarez, 21, hit .336 with seven homers in 28 games following his promotion to Gwinnett on June 12. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2022.
“Pretty much two years after I got drafted, I’m here now,” Alvarez said, adding he reacted to the news of his promotion to the majors with “probably 10 minutes of straight crying” in a phone call with his parents.
Alvarez, a native of Fontana, California, said the only negative was his parents had an early Monday flight to Atlanta cancelled and were having difficulty finding another flight to watch his major league debut.
Alvarez played shortstop in the minors but said he played second base for three years in high school and did not expect to have difficulty making the transition.
“At the end of the day, it’s just baseball,” Alvarez said.
Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia made 43 starts at second base for Atlanta in 2021. The Braves value Arcia’s defence at shortstop, so their focus was on finding other ways to replace Albies. Merrifield could be viewed as insurance if Alvarez struggles with the transition.
Albies was injured trying to catch a throw when Michael Siani stole second in the ninth inning on Sunday. Siani slid into Albies as the infielder reached for the ball, bending back his glove hand at an awkward angle.
Zack Short replaced Albies in Sunday’s game.
Albies is the third Atlanta position starter to be lost for a significant period of time with an injury. Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with a season-ending knee injury in May. Center fielder Michael Harris II, who replaced Acuna as the leadoff hitter, was placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring injury on June 14 and has not yet been cleared for a rehab assignment.
Earlier Sunday, All-Star left-hander Max Fried landed on the 15-day injured list with forearm neuritis, a nerve inflammation, in a move retroactive to Thursday. Ace right-hander Spencer Strider had season-ending Tommy John surgery in April.
“It’s been very challenging,” Snitker said of the injuries for the Braves, who are second in the NL East after winning the division the last six years. “This year has been something else. … It’s never easy. You have to battle through adversity a lot.”
— With files from The Associated Press