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Whit Merrifield
Last year, when the Jays acquired veteran Whit Merrifield from the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline, many had doubts with the move, because Merrifield was in the midst of his worst season statistically in 2022 with the Royals and appeared to be on the decline for his career as well. After joining the Jays, he continued his struggles and appeared down and out, until his sudden outburst near the end of the season that suddenly gave both himself and the Jays some life and hope. So which version of Merrifield would the Jays be getting in 2023, the struggling, regressed version or the two-week wonder version?
When Spring Training rolled around this year, Merrifield was keen on getting on the right foot from the start by putting up some solid numbers. He indeed came through with a .306 average, .894 OPS, with five doubles, one home run, eight RBI and two stolen bases in 36 at-bats. Now, can he maintain it during the regular season? Apparently, he sure can, as he has returned to his All-Star form this year, coincidentally making this year’s All-Star Game as a result. In 89 games, Merrifield is hitting .291 with an OPS of .742, with 41 runs scored, 17 doubles, six home runs, 42 RBI, and 20 stolen bases to boot.
More importantly, he has been living up to his nickname “Two-hit” Whit recently, along with coming through with key hits to help the Jays win ballgames. He has definitely been an underrated X-factor for the Blue Jays this year and will no doubt be a key player down the stretch in their playoff chase.