MLB Player News

The Phillies optioned Mercado to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

After being called up from Triple-A on June 11, Mercado made three relief appearances during his week-and-a-half-long stay with the Phillies, covering three innings while allowing five earned runs on seven hits and four walks. The Phillies recalled right-hander Alan Rangel from Lehigh Valley to replace Mercado as a lower-leverage, multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

The Phillies recalled Rangel from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Right-hander Michael Mercado was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man active roster and in the bullpen for Rangel. The 27-year-old right-hander previously made his MLB debut in a three-inning relief appearance June 7 and will likely serve as a lower-leverage arm during his latest stint with the Phillies.

Rojas will start in center field and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Mets.

The right-handed-hitting Rojas continues to be used in a platoon with the left-handed-hitting Brandon Marsh, but Rojas' opportunities have been scarce of late while the Phillies faced right-handed starting pitchers in each of the previous 11 games. Rojas will draw back into the starting nine on Sunday in place of Marsh while southpaw David Peterson toes the rubber for the Mets.

Kepler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

The left-handed-hitting Kepler will hit the bench for the first time since June 9, which marks the last time the Phillies faced a left-handed starting pitcher (the Cubs' Matthew Boyd). With southpaw David Peterson toeing the rubber for the Mets in the series finale, Otto Kemp will step in as the Phillies' left fielder in place of Kepler, who went 9-for-39 (.231 average) with three home runs and a 7:7 BB:K during his stretch of 11 consecutive starts.

Marsh is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

Marsh had started in each of the Phillies' last nine games and batted .333 with four extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple), five runs and three RBI, but Philadelphia faced right-handed starters in each of those contests. The Phillies are still seemingly viewing the left-handed-hitting Marsh as a platoon player, so he'll cede his spot in center field to the right-handed-hitting Johan Rojas on Sunday while southpaw David Peterson takes the hill for the Mets.

Stott is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

The Phillies are facing a left-handed starting pitcher (David Peterson) for the first time since June 9, so the lefty-hitting Stott will give up his spot at second base to Edmundo Sosa in the series finale. While starting in each of the previous 11 contests, Stott went 9-for-38 with a home run, two doubles, one stolen base, eight RBI and two runs.

Acuna will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Acuna will pick up just his second start in the Mets' last 15 games. He had previously been a regular presence in the lineup against left-handed pitching, though even those opportunities could begin to fall by the wayside after Ronny Mauricio was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse earlier this month. The New York infield will become more crowded when Mark Vientos (hamstring) returns from the injured list during the upcoming week, and it wouldn't be too surprising if one of Acuna or Mauricio was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding transaction.

Mauricio will start at third base and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Mauricio will nab his fifth start in six games, though three came while fellow infielder Brett Baty was out with a groin injury, and Sunday's start comes with the lefty-hitting Baty exiting the lineup due to the Phillies sending a lefty (Jesus Luzardo) to the hill. At this point, Mauricio doesn't looked to be locked in as a lineup regular against right-handed pitching when the Mets are at close to full strength, and his playing time could start to trend down once Mark Vientos (hamstring) makes his return from the injured list during the upcoming week.

Freeland (back) threw a bullpen session Sunday and is expected to return from the 15-day injured injured list to start Friday against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

The veteran left-hander landed on the shelf due to back stiffness after his June 11 start against San Francisco, but he's on track to rejoin Colorado's rotation after spending the minimum amount of time on the IL. Freeland will likely throw another bullpen session Tuesday before being fully cleared to return this weekend.

Baty is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

After he recently missed out on three straight starts due to a groin injury, Baty returned to the lineup this weekend and went 0-for-8 with a walk and a run scored while covering third base in the first two contests of the series. He's not believed to be dealing with any sort of setback with the groin injury, as his absence from the lineup Sunday likely has more to do with southpaw Jesus Luzardo taking the hill for the Phillies. Baty has produced a lowly .420 OPS thus far in June, and he could be at risk of losing out on playing time against right-handed pitching when Mark Vientos (hamstring) likely returns from the injured list during the upcoming week.