Merritt was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday.
With Josh Tomlin (hamstring) expected to come off the DL before the end of the month, Merritt is no longer needed in the rotation, so he'll head back to Columbus after tossing 6.2 scoreless innings in a spot start against the Royals on Friday. He now owns a 1.76 ERA across 15.1 innings (four games, three starts), so expect him to return in a long-relief role in September after rosters expand.