Indians Acquire Minor League OF Oscar Mercado in Trade Deadline Deal with Cardinals

While the trade deadline wasn’t the homerun a lot of Indians hoped it would be in terms of a big name, the team did wrap up a deal late in the day Tuesday with the St.Louis Cardinals.

The team acquired outfielder Oscar Mercado trading away outfielders Conner Capel and Jhon Torres. The team sent Mercado to AAA Columbus.

“We are excited to acquire Oscar,” Indians President Chris Antonetti said in a statement released by the team.

“He can impact the game in multiple ways with his hit-ability and above-average speed, which plays both on defense and on the bases.

“He’s a player we liked in the draft and have followed closely throughout his professional career with the Cardinals. He bolsters our organizational outfield depth in the short-term and we’re optimistic about his continued development.”

The 23-year-old has spent the entire 2018 season with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, batting .285 (109-for-382) with 21 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs and 42 RBI in 100 games (.351/.408/.759).

He currently leads the Pacific Coast League in stolen bases (31-for-39), 2nd in runs (73) and T4th in hits (109). He is leading the Cardinals system in steals and runs currently and his .351 on-base pct. is a professional career-high.

Mercado this season has appeared in 89 games in center field, 7 games in left and 2 games in right in Memphis.

He was rated as the 10th overall prospect in the Cardinals system according to MLB.com.

The Indians also announced they have designated outfielder Johnny Field, who was picked up off waivers last week from the Rays, for assignment.

Here’s an interview with Mercado from the spring, in which he spoke about moving from shortstop to the outfield.