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The Phillies have claimed outfielder Óscar Mercado off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians, President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced today.

Mercado, 27, appeared in 49 games for Cleveland this season, batting .202 with six doubles, a triple, four home runs, 16 RBI, two steals and 17 runs scored. He made starts at all three outfield positions for the Guardians.

Mercado has played in parts of four major league seasons (2019-22), posting a .235 career batting average with 43 doubles, five triples, 26 home runs, 95 RBI, 27 steals and 120 runs scored across 272 games. Defensively, he has 15 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, including 11 in center field. In 2019, Mercado led all American League rookies in steals (15) and runs (70) and was third in hits (118) behind only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (126) and Eloy Jimenez (125). Mercado was originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the June 2013 draft out of Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla. He is a native of Cartegena, Colombia.

To create a roster spot, they recalled Damon Jones and put him on the 60-day DL. They’ll make a corresponding move to get him on the 26-man.

Mercado is a righty hitting .222 this month with a .556 OPS. A slugger he is not, though Bryce Harper and his ilk do not become available on waivers. Mercado is a depth piece who maybe gives them something different in the outfield, but statistically speaking, he’s not hitting the ball any better than Odubel right now.

He does, however, have some nice defensive highlights floating around out there:

It’s a waiver move. Another body who can play some defense. Welcome aboard, Oscar.