Whit Merrifield chose the Phillies for a chance to win

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Whit Merrifield met up with his friend Christian Walker a few weeks ago. Merrifield and Walker, who is from Norristown, were teammates at the University of South Carolina, where they won a College World Series together in 2010.

Fourteen years later, Walker was playing first base for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Merrifield was a 35-year-old free-agent utility player in search of his next job.

Merrifield watched the Phillies’ postseason run last fall, which included a disappointing series against the Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series. Merrifield had questions.

“What was it like playing at [Citizens Bank Park] in the postseason?” he asked Walker.

“What you imagined,” Walker responded. “Times about five.”

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Merrifield was intrigued. Philadelphia was at the top of his list from the start of the offseason, for that very reason. In eight seasons with the Royals and the Blue Jays, Merrifield made three All-Star teams. He led the American League in stolen bases three times and in hits twice. But he had only six postseason at-bats.

He was ready to win. And over the last two seasons, he saw Philadelphia win in an environment that seemed “crazy.”

“Being in the league for a while now, the reputation of this team, and this clubhouse, it gets around,” Merrifield said. “And to be a part of it was something I really wanted to be able to do. [I was] watching some of these playoff games in Philadelphia, wanting to be a part of it.

“Whether it was on this side or the other side, I just wanted to see what the Bank was like during the playoffs. I’m really thrilled to be on the good side.”

On paper, the Phillies — who formally signed Merrifield to a one-year, $7 million deal on Monday, with a club option for 2025 that includes a $1 million buyout — are not the best fit for him. He takes pride in playing every day, this won’t be an everyday role barring an injury. He believes that second base is his best position, and that spot is filled by Bryson Stott.

There were opportunities to play second elsewhere, but Merrifield decided that the trade-off of winning was worth the concession.

“Those teams weren’t in the position that Philly is in,” Merrifield said. “So yeah, [I’m] kind of coming here with the anticipation of bouncing around. Doing things that I’ve done my whole career, was something that I was never opposed to. And I know it’s a value to a team and something I’ve been good at in my career.

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“I still thought I’d have a chance to go play second base every day. But like I said, there were two teams that I was willing to not do that for, and Philly was one.”

Since his time at South Carolina, Merrifield has played everywhere but catcher and pitcher (although he did toss one inning in mop-up duty with the Blue Jays in 2022). The Phillies believe he’ll be able to give them some positional flexibility and allow more players to take days off.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned a scenario in which left-handed hitters Stott and Brandon Marsh — who are both a work in progress against lefties — could be spelled at times by the right-handed-hitting Merrifield.

“Both of them we think will continue to grow,” Dombrowski said. “Stott hit left-handed pitching very well. Marsh continues to grow. Versus a real tough lefthander, well, Merrifield’s two best positions are second base and left field. So he could spell either one of those two. But he could also go to third, he could also go to shortstop, he can play first. He can play really any other position other than catcher and pitcher.”

Dombrowski said it’s possible Merrifield plays somewhere in the range of two to four games a week. This was communicated to Merrifield early on, and he said he is on board.

“It’ll be a little different,” Merrifield said. “But at the same time, I spent my whole career as a ninth-rounder, a non-prospect, spending years in the minor leagues, finally getting a chance to play in the big leagues” at age 27.

“I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to do things to prove myself. To prove that I can play at this level.

“I want to win now. And so I’m here to do whatever I need to do to win. To help this team win. Whether it’s to be the cheerleader for 162 games — I don’t think that’s why they brought me here — but if that’s what they want me to do, I just want to win.”

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A phone conversation with Bryce Harper, about two weeks ago, reinforced that sentiment.

“[He said] we’re going to win, and that’s something that has eluded me for a long time in my career,” Merrifield said. “And I’m thrilled to be here to help this team in any way I can.”

There are things for him to address this season. Merrifield posted a career low hard-hit rate in 2023, at 24.3%, which ranks in the bottom 2% of MLB. He struggled in September, hitting .181/.250/.222 in his last 20 games. That frustrated Merrifield, who is a career .284/.330/.420 hitter.

But he believes he has made the changes — mechanically, and in his mindset — to get back on track, and the Phillies are optimistic that less playing time will do him good.

“Perhaps [it will help him], you never know,” Dombrowski said. “We did talk to some people with Toronto, and they liked him a great deal. They thought very highly of him. [But they said] that perhaps they played him too much as the year went on, due to circumstances. Only time will tell on that. But yes, I think so. Sometimes it’s hard for players to play well and play good and play hard to ever take a step back. But sometimes it does help them.”

Extra bases

To make room for Merrifield on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated right-handed pitcher Kaleb Ort for assignment. Dombrowski said the Phillies will be open-minded about players they could acquire, but they won’t be actively looking. He feels good about their depth.

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