Merrifield and the Blue Jays both declined his mutual option for the 2024 season Thursday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The option was worth $18 million, so it's little surprise the team is willing to move on given that Merrifield lost playing down the final stretch. He'll be entering his age-35 season, so Merrifield could be looking for a final payday. He maintained a .700 OPS with 11 home runs and 26 steals across 592 plate appearances in 2023.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Absent from Game 1 lineup
Rotowire
Merrifield is not in the lineup for Tuesday's AL Wild Card Series opener against the Twins, Ben Wagner of Sportsnet Radio reports.
Given his usage down the stretch of the regular season, it's not a surprise to see Merrifield begin this one on the bench. The Blue Jays are opting for Cavan Biggio at second base, Daulton Varsho in left field and Kevin Kiermaier in center.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Added to lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Merrifield was added to the lineup for Wednesday's game at Yankee Stadium.
Merrifield will play second base and bat sixth with Cavan Biggio shifting over to first base. Spencer Horwitz is now serving as the Blue Jays' designated hitter after Vladimir Guerrero (knee) was a late scratch.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Playing time trending down
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
Wednesday's absence marks his sixth in Toronto's past nine games, as Merrifield's .549 OPS since the start of August appears to have caught up to him. Daulton Varsho continues to work as the primary left fielder, while Cavan Biggio has a hot stick while seeing regular at-bats in a utility role.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Merrifield is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Yankees, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.careports.
Merrifield is 3-for-32 in his past nine games and finds himself on the bench for the third time in Toronto's last four contests. The veteran utility man and Daulton Varsho have been splitting time in left field of late, with both players have struggled in September with a sub-.700 OPS.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup Sunday against the Red Sox.
Daulton Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier and Cavan Biggio will start across the outfield for the Blue Jays as Davis Schneider handles second base. Merrifield went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI in Toronto's win Saturday versus Boston.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Rejoins lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Merrifield (groin) is starting in left field and batting fifth against the Rangers on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old sat out the previous two games with groin tightness but will return to the starting nine Wednesday versus Texas lefty Jordan Montgomery. Merrifield is mired in a 1-for-20 slump and has seen his playing time against right-handed pitchers slip, with Davis Schneider handling a larger role at second base.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Dealing with groin tightness
Rotowire
Merrifield, who is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers, is dealing with left groin tightness, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Per Davidi, Merrifield is likely available off the bench. He may not have started anyway against tough righty Max Scherzer, as Merrifield has seen his playing time slip against same-handed pitching.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Sitting again against RHP
Rotowire
Merrifield is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers.
It seems that Merrifield has fallen into the short side of a platoon, as this will be Merrifield's third straight game sitting against a righty. He last started against a righty Sept. 8.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Merrifield will sit Saturday against Kansas City.
Merrifield hits the bench after going 0-for-4 in each of his last four games. Davis Schneider starts at second base Saturday while Daulton Varsho starts in left field, the two spots Merrifield has split his time between this season.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Three hits, stolen base in win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 13-9 win over the Rockies.
Merrifield singled and stole second base off Chris Flexen in the top of the second inning before he ripped an RBI double off Brent Suter in the top of the seventh, driving in Alejandro Kirk in the process. The stolen base was Merrifield's 25th of the year and second in as many games. After a hot stretch from the beginning of July until mid-August, he has struggled to a .186 batting average with four extra-base hits over 59 at-bats since Aug. 16. Perhaps Friday's performance can get him back on track.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Heads to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Merrifield will join fellow veteran Kevin Kiermaier on the bench for the day game, opening up spots at second base and in the outfield for Cavan Biggio and Davis Schneider, respectively. The day off ends a stretch of 16 consecutive starts for Merrifield, who hit .264 with one home run and two stolen bases during that time.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Four hits in win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 4-for-6 with one double, one RBI, two runs scored and one steal in Sunday's win over the Cubs.
Merrifield has now hit safely in six straight contests, with three multi-hit games and a .429 average over that stretch. 2023 has been a resurgent year for the 34-year-old, whose .302 average is his highest since 2019 as a member of the Royals. Merrifield has added 11 home runs, 55 RBI, 53 runs, and 21 stolen bases on the season and is a mainstay at the top of a potent Blue Jays lineup.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Gets day off
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
Merrifield will get his first day off since July 1, joining Kevin Kiermaier (elbow), Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal as the Blue Jays' reserve position players for the series opener. With Merrifield resting, Cavan Biggio will enter the lineup at second base while rookie Davis Schneider starts in left field and takes over as the Blue Jays' leadoff hitter.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Big game from top of order
Rotowire
Merrifield went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 4-1 win over the Angels.
After swiping a bag in the sixth inning he took Jose Soriano deep in the seventh, giving Merrifield eight homers and 21 steals on the season to go with his .305/.354/.425 slash line. The 34-year-old moved up to the leadoff spot Friday, with George Springer shifting down to the five hole, and Merrifield could get a long look at the top of the order given his initial success.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Elevated to leadoff spot
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Merrifield is batting leadoff Friday against the Angels, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Normal leadoff man George Springer has been dropped to the fifth spot in the batting order amidst a slump. Merrifield has earned his ascension to the top of the order by putting up a .968 OPS with five home runs and two stolen bases in July.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Belts seventh homer
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Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Wednesday's 8-1 win over the Dodgers.
His three-run shot off Tony Gonsolin in the fifth inning put the game out of reach and all but wrapped up a series win for the Blue Jays. Merrifield is putting the finishing touches on a huge July, slashing .352/.377/.592 through 19 games with five of his seven homers on the season to go along with two steals, 14 runs and 16 RBI.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Homers, drives in two in win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Diamondbacks.
Merrifield singled to lead off the bottom of the second and went on to score the first of two runs for Toronto in the inning. He then came right back in his next at-bat and crushed a hanging changeup from Zac Gallen over the left field wall to lead off the fourth, putting the Blue Jays back on top 3-2. The second baseman has been highly efficient at the plate this month and now has recorded two hits in five of his last seven games. Four of his six home runs on the season have also come in July.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Plates two, adds steal
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the White Sox.
Merrifield opened the scoring with a two-run double in the fourth inning. Tuesday saw him record multiple hits for the first time in his last seven games. The veteran hit .268 in June but faded toward the end of the month. For the season, he's at 19 steals, 32 RBI, 32 runs scored, 17 doubles, two home runs and a .285/.341/.367 slash line through 77 contests.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Merrifield isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup Saturday against the Red Sox, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Merrifield is 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in his last two games and will receive Saturday off to regroup. While Merrifield sits, Cavan Biggio will start at second base and bat eighth, and Daulton Varsho will take over in left field.
