Making it to the major leagues is challenging, but remaining there is even more difficult, a reality that Óscar Mercado has experienced throughout his career.
The five-year MLB veteran last appeared at the major league level in 2023 and spent the 2025 season grinding through 115 games in Triple-A within the Philadelphia Phillies organization during his second stint with the club.
His lone appearance in Philadelphia’s major league uniform came during the summer of 2022, and it now appears likely to remain his only MLB game with the team.
After electing free agency in November, Mercado spent more than three months searching for a new opportunity before eventually signing a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, as reflected in MLB.com’s transaction records.
Mercado’s 2025 Triple-A performance featured a .249 batting average, 11 home runs, and a .742 OPS, numbers that were solid but did not necessarily guarantee success at the major league level, where competition is significantly tougher.
Across 298 career MLB games with teams including the Cleveland Guardians, Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals, he has recorded a .237/.288/.389 slash line with 26 career home runs, while finishing eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019.
Entering his age-31 season, Mercado understands that his remaining chances to return to the majors may be limited, making his decision to join Arizona strategically important given the team’s recent roster turnover and injury concerns in its outfield depth.
