Whitley Merrifield: Everything you need to know

Merrifield announced Tuesday that he has retired from baseball after a nine-year major-league career, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports. Merrifield last played with Atlanta in 2024, and he spent the entirety of the 2025 campaign to this point as a free agent. The 36-year-old posted a career .280/.328/.413 slash line with 94 home runs, 485 RBI, 632 runs scored and 218 stolen bases over 1,147 career games across nine seasons with the Royals, Blue Jays, Phillies and Atlanta. His 174 stolen bases with the Royals ranks seventh all-time in franchise history, while his .286 career average with Kansas City is good for 13th-best. Merrifield was also selected as an All-Star in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and he led baseball in hits in both 2018 (192) and 2019 (206).

Merrifield is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins. He'll hit the bench for the third game in a row, with his exit from the lineup corresponding with top second baseman Ozzie Albies' return from the 10-day injured list. With Albies entrenched at the keystone and with Atlanta satisfied with how Gio Urshela and Ramon Laureano are performing as their primary starters at third base and in left field, respectively, Merrifield doesn't have an avenue to everyday at-bats.

Merrifield went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in Saturday's 10-1 win over the Dodgers. Merrifield has gone 5-for-8 over the first two games of this weekend's series versus the Dodgers. He missed the previous week due to a left foot fracture, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Merrifield cede some playing time to Cavan Biggio for regular rest. For the season, Merrifield has a .229/.321/.327 slash line four home runs, 16 stolen bases, nine doubles, three triples, 15 RBI and 43 runs scored over 89 contests between Atlanta and Philadelphia.