Merrifield bounced around the NL East last season with the Phillies and Braves while his batting average took a nosedive. After hitting .272 in his last full year with the Blue Jays in 2023, the 36-year-old batted .199 in 95 games with Philadelphia, then improved to .248 over 42 games in Atlanta.

Baseball has already taken some great first steps towards not only speeding up the game but making its product more enjoyable for an increasingly younger audience consuming the sport. RELATED: Rob Manfred offers update on A's stadium in Las Vegas For the most part,

A computerized system that calls balls and strikes is being tested during Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games starting Thursday after four years of experiments in the minor leagues.