PHILADELPHIA — In late July, the Phillies were on a flight from Pittsburgh to Minnesota when Kyle Schwarber had an incoming call from Whit Merrifield, whom the Phillies had released a week and a half earlier. And seconds later, teammate Bryson Stott looked down at his phone and Merrifield was calling him.
They could not answer the phone because they were on the plane. But Stott knew why his former teammate was calling.
“Congrats man, you’re a Brave,” Stott texted Merrifield at that moment.
And when the Phillies landed and boarded the bus to head to their hotel, Schwarber called Merrifield on FaceTime. Before Merrifield delivered the news that he had signed with the Braves, he had a message for the first-place Phillies and their division-title hopes.
“Y’all are (expletive),” he joked.
Reminded of this, Bryce Harper cracks up laughing. That funny line perfectly encapsulates Merrifield’s sense of humor, which is one reason teammates love him so much.
“He’s that type of person, man,” Harper told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s funny. He’s got some one-liners and drops some stuff.”
Harper keeps glass water bottles in a hallway near the clubhouse. After the Braves arrived Thursday, Merrifield, knowing this, went and grabbed one of the bottles. Then he texted Harper.
“Thanks for the water,” Merrifield said in jest.
“That’s $8 a bottle, so I’ll accept some cash at the end of the series,” Harper responded.
As the Braves returned to Philadelphia for this weekend’s series, Merrifield did as well. The Phillies let him go in July, but he came back as the leadoff hitter for a Braves team that’s in the postseason picture and might run into Philadelphia again. And while the Phillies embrace their rivalry with the Braves, they’re happy to see Merrifield thriving with the Braves.
But they aren’t surprised to see him donning Braves colors.
“I think you could ask anybody in here, and they were gonna say Kansas City or Atlanta,” Stott told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of Phillies players’ thoughts on Merrifield’s landing spot. “And it happened to be Atlanta. We’re happy for him. But not as happy when he’s playing against us.”
“I didn’t think we were at all shocked that he went to Atlanta,” Harper said. “Obviously (Ozzie) Albies going down (with a fractured wrist), seeing that (Whit) can play every day somewhere. I thought either (the Braves) or (the Dodgers) he was going to go to. Just because of the type of player he is, the type of person he is as well, I thought he’d fit that mold pretty well. He’s done that.”
Merrifield has been candid about his time in Philadelphia. He holds no ill will toward the organization. Things simply didn’t work out.
Merrifield signed with the Phillies knowing he wouldn’t be an everyday player. But his actual role – a super-utility bench player with sporadic playing time – proved to be more difficult than he imagined.
The first word Stott used to describe Merrifield’s time in the Phillies clubhouse: Awesome. “There’s really no other words for it,” Stott said. “Just the ultimate pro.” And Merrifield’s Phillies teammates saw his professionalism in the way he handled his situation. Merrifield and Stott used to have lockers next to one another. Now, Austin Hays has Merrifield’s old locker.
“We talked a lot, and I kind of just think he thought he would be a little more comfortable and perform a little better in that role, and it didn’t work out for him here,” Stott said. “We’re happy to see him getting his time and playing well. Not as much as when he’s playing us. But he’s a phenomenal human; he’s a great teammate, and he’s just been doing it for so long, running out there every day and playing, and I think adjusting to that new role is a little tougher than he might’ve thought. He’ll be the first to tell you that, which is also why I think a lot of us love him in here, is he doesn’t sugarcoat everything, and he’ll be straightforward with you.”
In Atlanta, Merrifield is the everyday second baseman until Ozzie Albies returns – which could be in the middle of September. Merrifield recently began batting leadoff for the Braves. In the series opener in Minnesota, he went 5-for-5 for the second time in his career, and the first since 2018.
The Phillies would rather Merrifield not hurt them.
But they cannot help but enjoy seeing him succeed.
“He’s a great ballplayer, man,” Harper said. “Been around the game for a long time. Good veteran guy to have, especially with the group that we had, obviously, and then the group (the Braves have) as well. I think he just kind of molds into, really, any team that he plays for. He’s a winner, too. He’s done it since college. To kind of see him get over there with a good group and great manager, having the success that he is right now, it’s been fun to see.”
Are they surprised to see Merrifield playing this well so far?
“I wouldn’t say surprised,” Stott said. “I mean, we know how hard it is to play a day, sit two days, play a day. It’s tough, it’s not an easy thing to do – especially for someone like him, who, every time he trots out there, it feels like he’s getting two hits. He did that for six, seven years with (multiple) other teams.
“It’s just like he said: It was a little tougher than he might’ve thought, and he didn’t have any tough feelings toward us, toward the organization at all. He took it all on himself, and I think that’s just the sign of an ultimate pro and an ultimate teammate, is not once did we hear him complain that it’s because he’s not playing, it’s this and that. I think everyone in here knew what it was – when you play every day for six years and then you have to go do something you’ve never done. But not once did he ever blame anybody else. I think a lot of us looked at that as just how he is and who he is as a person.”
Entering Saturday, Merrifield had gone 0-for-10 in two games against the Phillies. He was 0-for-21 since his 5-for-5 performance. He was batting .260 with a .741 OPS as the teams readied for the final two games of the series.
Merrifield is 35 years old, but doesn’t feel like it. He recently said that some of his physical measurables – like strength – are better now than in his late 20s. But he’s seen a lot in the game and has provided the Braves with yet another veteran presence and mind.
It seems some teams have devalued players because of their age. But Merrifield provides attributes that cannot be found in some younger guys who would fill the same role.
“I think teams are obviously looking inward to a lot of their younger guys and what kind of players they can kind of develop in their minor leagues and stuff like that. So I don’t fault them too much for that,” Harper said. “But also, when you have veteran guys – I miss having the veteran guy in a clubhouse. Somebody that’s a little bit older, understands the game, been around the game for a long time, knows how to play, plays it right. I think having guys like that really (takes) a lot of pressure off of the young guys and things like that. And I think Whit’s that type of player, man. Being around the game for a long time, he understands it. When you look at him, he plays (hard-nosed baseball), plays it the right way, makes few mistakes, runs the bases well. I think he fits (the Braves) mold for a team really well just because of the way he plays and kind of his mindset as well.”
After the Phillies released him, Merrifield, who became a first-time father in March, went home to North Carolina. He enjoyed that time just being dad. He felt at peace with everything.
Then the Braves came calling.
Merrifield’s former teammates weren’t shocked. They’re happy for Merrifield, but they’d prefer he wait to continue playing well until after he leaves Philadelphia.
“A door opened with Ozzie being out,” Stott said. “Obviously, you never want to see anybody get hurt, and that being opened, it was kind of a no-brainer for us, figuring he was going there. But it just happened that they called and he was ready to go. Yeah, we weren’t surprised a single bit.”
“(The Braves) have such a great organization, such a great group over there,” Harper said. “For him to go over there, he fits right in with all those guys, man.”
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