The Phillies have acquired right-handed pitcher Michael Mercado from the Tampa Bay Rays and selected his contract to the Major League roster. In exchange for Mercado, the Phillies have sent right-handed pitcher Adam Leverett and cash considerations to Tampa Bay.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski made the announcement.
Mercado, 24, split last season between double-A Montgomery and triple-A Durham. In 52 combined games (two starts), he had 95 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched (13.8 SO/9.0 IP) with 35 walks and a 4.79 ERA (33 ER). Over his final 11 appearances of the season (all with Durham), Mercado went multiple innings in seven of them and tossed at least 3.0 innings in three of them. In the seven appearances he went multiple innings, he faced 67 batters and struck out 30 (44.8% strikeout rate).
Mercado was originally selected by Tampa Bay with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Westview High School in San Diego, Calif.
Leverett was originally selected by the Phillies in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
With Mercado’s selection, the Phillies’ 40-man roster is currently at 38.
