Michael Mercado’s run as the No. 5 starter in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation lasted only two turns through the rotation, but manager Rob Thomson said Tuesday that was always the plan.
Tyler Phillips is going to start Saturday against the Oakland Athletics, with Mercado now an option in relief.
“So Mercado will transition into the bullpen, and this was a plan from the beginning,” Thomson said before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Because he doesn’t have that many innings on him, [assistant pitching coach/director of pitching development] Brian Kaplan told him that we will build you up until basically the All-Star Break, and then we’ll transition back to the bullpen,” Thomson continued. “At the time, it was [going to be] in Triple-A. But now, we’re transitioning him into the Major League bullpen.”
Mercado logged 62 innings between Double-A and Triple-A for the Tampa Bay Rays organization a year ago, pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen. Operating more as a starter than a reliever this year between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the majors, Mercado has already thrown 55 total innings.
After pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the Detroit Tigers in his MLB debut on June 24, Mercado was temporarily thrust into the starting rotation with both Taijuan Walker (right index finger inflammation) and Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) both on the injured list.
Mercado fared well in a win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 2, allowing just two hits and one run over five frames. However, he was lit up at Truist Park this past Sunday, walking three batters and allowing three home runs over just 1 2/3 innings of work against the Atlanta Braves.
Phillips — a graduate of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, NJ — impressed in relief of Mercado. In his MLB debut, Phillips struck out seven batters, while allowing three hits and one run over four innings of work. He flashed a nasty sweeper, a pitch he used more than 50% of the time in his debut.
With no timeline for Walker’s return other than that it won’t be before the All-Star Break and Turnbull likely out at least another month, Phillips will have a chance to make a statement if he pitches well.
Elsewhere in the starting rotation, Zack Wheeler is slated to take the ball Tuesday evening against the Dodgers, and then again Sunday against the A’s. While Wheeler was selected to the All-Star Game for the second time in his career, he will not pitch in the midsummer classic.
Thomson said he hasn’t made any calls on getting Cristopher Sánchez into the All-Star Game as a replacement for Wheeler. But certainly Thomson would be thrilled if Sánchez — seen as one of the biggest snubs — ends up getting picked to take the spot of Wheeler or anyone else.
“I would love for him to be there,” Thomson said. “Because he would want to be there.”
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