269 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 115 games as a rookie in 2019. "Nobody's giving up on him, and we wanted to make sure he understood that." "He needs some time and, when I say space I mean not major league games hanging over his head, to get him back to where he can help us," manager Terry Francona said Sunday on a Zoom call from Goodyear Arizona. Mercado entered spring training as the favorite to win the starting job in center field, but the 26-year-old has continued to have problems at the plate and the Indians want him to get some extra work with Triple-A Columbus. Struggling in exhibition play, Mercado was optioned to the team's depth camp on Sunday, continuing his slide after a promising rookie season.
Oscar mercado upgrade#
Mercado remains a bit in between right now, however, the Indians can only be so patient with so much young talent in the organization.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬleveland Indians send struggling outfielder Óscar Mercado to minorsĬLEVELAND - Óscar Mercado won't start the season in Cleveland's outfield - or even with the Indians. The Indians can remain in contention and become “sellers” in the sense they don’t trade MLB starters, but rather those stuck in Triple-A. Not seeing Mercado before July may have the Indians looking to move on from him. Owen Miller was the latest Clippers player to get the call-up to Cleveland.īobby Bradley should be next on the list as well. Mercado is one of those players, even if he too will be in Zimmer’s situation soon without better production. The team moved on from Tyler Naquin this past offseason and although that now looks like a bad move, Zimmer is a similar player in that others are pushing him out for playing time. 718 OPS and only four RBIs on the year.Īt this point it would appear he is last on the list of potential promotions behind both Mercado and Johnson.Ī trade may make the most sense, but a team has to actively want Zimmer in a deal for that reality to take place.Ĭertain teams may sign Zimmer if he was cut, so it is possible no one is willing to part with a prospect just yet.Ĭutting Zimmer may ultimately be a goodwill move by the Indians if he has no future in Cleveland. Zimmer is now 28 years old and while he is doing better than Mercado in Triple-A, he is still not dominating. Two Former MLB Outfielders Struggling in Columbusīradley Zimmer must also be brought up when discussing Mercado.Ĭolumbus Clippers OF Bradley Zimmer with two more hits tonight vs Toledo extended his hitting streak to 5 straight games.ĭuring streak: 7-18 3R 2(2B) 4RBI 1BB 1SB. However, the struggles didn’t magically go away as we can see now. One fair argument was to say Mercado was a victim of the bizarre schedule and offseason. Indians fans saw Mercado as a long-term piece back in 2019 when he played in 115 games and finished top-10 in American League Rookie of the Year voting.Ģ020 was far more brutal as he posted a. Johnson had a disastrous set of games, but the point remains he was given a shot over Mercado. That is a year older than Daniel Johnson, who received a quick promotion earlier this year. Time may be running out for Mercado as he is already 26 years old. He has hit zero home runs and has four doubles on the year. 164/.243/.224 in the first month of the Triple-A season.
"Nobody's giving up on him," manager Terry Francona said. #Indians sending CF Oscar Mercado to minors.
Mercado was demoted before the start of the season and the talk was about giving him time to get comfortable on offense once again. He is now struggling just to get on base in Triple-A. Oscar Mercado seemed like the obvious man to be the Opening Day center fielder for the Cleveland Indians in 2021.