Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Loses spot on 40-man roster
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Mercedes cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento by the Giants on Friday, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.
The 29-year-old was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 31 and will stick around Sacramento after losing his spot on the 40-man roster. Mercedes has appeared in 31 games in the big leagues this year and has a .667 OPS in 83 plate appearances.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Optioned to Triple-A
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Mercedes was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Amy Gutierrez of the Giants' official site reports.
Mercedes was called up and started at first base for Tuesday's game versus the Padres, but he will return to Sacramento on Wednesday. Andrew Knapp had his contract selected and will operate as the primary backup to Austin Wynns at catcher for the time being as Joey Bart (concussion) is unavailable.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Called up, starting Tuesday
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Mercedes was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and will start Tuesday versus San Diego, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Mercedes was demoted in early August but will rejoin the big club with Joey Bart (concussion) placed on the injured list. The 29-year-old will serve as the backup catcher while Austin Wynns fills in as the starter, though Mercedes is starting at first base Tuesday, according to Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Optioned to minors
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Mercedes was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Mercedes recently made four straight starts for the Giants, but he'll head to the minors with multiple position players coming off the injured list over the past couple days. The 29-year-old has a .243/.338/.357 slash line with one home run and eight RBI over 80 plate appearances this year.
Mercedes will serve as San Francisco's designated hitter and No. 4 batter in Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Despite going 1-for-11 in the first three games of the series, Mercedes will get another look as the Giants' DH in the finale. It's worth noting that the Giants faced four lefty starters in the series, so the righty-hitting Mercedes should still be viewed as a short-side platoon player.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Sits against right-hander
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Mercedes is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks and right-handed starting pitcher Zac Gallen, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Mercedes will be on the bench for the series finale after he started in four of the Giants' first six games out of the All-Star break while going 3-for-14 with two doubles, two walks and two runs and an RBI. With the lefty-hitting Tommy La Stella (illness) returning from the COVID-19-related injured list Tuesday, the righty-hitting Mercedes may have to settle for a short-side platoon role at designated hitter or in left field moving forward.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Hits first homer with new team
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Mercedes went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and three runs scored in Tuesday's 13-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Mercedes opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning. He added a two-run blast in the second and another RBI on a groundout in the eighth. The 29-year-old has produced two multi-hit efforts in nine games since his most recent recall from Triple-A Sacramento. He's now batting .296 with a homer, four RBI, five runs scored and three doubles in 31 plate appearances through his first 11 contests with the Giants.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Getting start versus lefty
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Mercedes will start in left field and bat third in Sunday's game against the Padres, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Mercedes will pick up his fifth start in nine games since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento a week ago. He'll likely see regular work versus left-handed pitching, but Mercedes' opportunities to play against right-handers should dwindle once Brandon Belt (knee) is cleared to rejoin the lineup and when Tommy La Stella (illness) is activated from the COVID-19-related injured list.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Rejoins big club
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The Giants recalled Mercedes from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.
Though he was optioned to Sacramento on Wednesday, Mercedes will be eligible to rejoin the big club less than a week later after Thairo Estrada (illness) was placed on the COVID-19-related injured list Sunday in a corresponding move. The righty-hitting Mercedes will likely serve as a short-side platoon option at either first base or designated hitter while he's up with the Giants.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Goes to minors
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The Giants optioned Mercedes to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Mercedes was moved off the 26-man active roster to clear room for outfielder LaMonte Wade (knee), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. After being claimed off waivers from the White Sox on July 18 and joining the big club about a week later, Mercedes appeared in two games for the Giants and went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Joins big-league club
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Mercedes was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
The 29-year-old was claimed off waivers from the White Sox last weekend and has been called up by the Giants with Brandon Crawford (knee) headed to the injured list. Mercedes is unlikely to see significant playing time but should have some opportunities between first base, left field and designated hitter.
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Giants' Yermin Mercedes: Claimed by Giants
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Mercedes was claimed off waivers by the Giants on Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Mercedes made a brief splash at the start of last season as a 28-year-old rookie, but his overall .271/.328/.404 slash line in 68 games was merely good for a 101 wRC+, a number which isn't good enough for a player who shouldn't feature anywhere other than designated hitter. He's spent all of this season with Triple-A Charlotte, where he's hit .230/.376/.425 in 25 games. The Giants are quite good at building a roster that gets the most out of a set of imperfect players, but whether or not they'll eventually carve out a meaningful role for Mercedes remains to be seen.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Cast off 40-man
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Mercedes was designated for assignment on Sunday.
Mercedes was slashing .230/.376/.425 with four home runs in 25 games at Triple-A. He was a nice story early last season when he was having success in the majors but no longer factors into Chicago's short- or long-term plans.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Activated and optioned
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The White Sox activated Mercedes (hand) from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Mercedes spent the first month of the season on the shelf after undergoing surgery in late March to address a hamate bone fracture in his left hand. He was cleared to begin a rehab assignment at Charlotte last week, and with the White Sox having no room for him on the 26-man active roster, he'll remain with Chicago's top affiliate after going 4-for-15 with a double and two walks during his first four games on the farm.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Placed on 10-day injured list
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Mercedes (hand) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to April 4.
Mercedes sustained a hamate fracture in his left hand that required surgery in late March, and he has a recovery timetable of approximately 6-8 weeks. It wouldn't be surprising to see the 29-year-old spend time in the minors once he's back to full health, but he should be in the mix to return to the big leagues at some point in 2022.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Hitting homers at Triple-A
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Mercedes went 5-for-5 with two home runs Sunday for Triple-A Charlotte.
Mercedes announced his retirement on July 21 and then changed his mind a day later. His decision didn't impact him at the plate, as he's hitting .287 with a .826 OPS and six home runs in 20 games since July 23. With Yasmani Grandal returning soon from a knee injury, however, it doesn't look like there's a good chance of Mercedes returning to the majors in the near term.
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Yermin Mercedes: Announces retirement Wednesday
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Mercedes announced his retirement in an Instagram post Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Mercedes hit .309 with four home runs and 10 RBI after being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on July 2. Chances of the 28-year-old rookie getting recalled by the White Sox this season were slim, especially with the looming returns of Eloy Jimenez (pectoral) and Luis Robert (hip). If this is indeed the end of Mercedes' MLB career, he retires with a .270 average and seven home runs in 241 at-bats, all but one of which came in 2021.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Demoted to Triple-A
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Mercedes was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.
Mercedes was held out of the lineup in five of the past eight games and will now head to the minors. The 28-year-old broke out with an 1.113 OPS, five homers and 16 RBI in April but he's struggled over the past two months, slashing .196/.264/.272 with only two long balls in 47 games. Mercedes could rejoin Chicago later in the year if he can get back on track in the minors, but for now he'll head to Charlotte. Jake Burger, one of the organization's top prospects, was promoted as part of Friday's transactions and likely will see time as the designated hitter with Mercedes optioned.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Not in starting nine
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Mercedes will not start Thursday's game against the Twins.
Mercedes has now been on the bench five times in Chicago's last eight games. Jose Abreu will rest his legs as the designated hitter in his absence.
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White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Not starting Tuesday
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Mercedes is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
Mercedes doesn't appear to deserve everyday at-bats at the moment, as he's hit just .175/.234/.246 over his last 35 games. Yasmani Grandal will serve as the designated hitter in his absence, with Zack Collins taking over behind the plate.
