Washington Nationals: Bench players have milestones too

He would have liked to cross this threshold many games ago. There were plenty of opportunities to as well. However, Washington Nationals reserve infielder Jordy Mercer, met his milestone with a flair for the dramatic.

The light hitting utility man has never eclipsed 59 RBIs in any of the nine previous years he has played. Add them up, though, and he has reached the 300 RBI mark for his career. He’d been sitting on 299 for 40 games, over the course of two baseball seasons. His last run batted in came in his final appearance in 2019 for the Detroit Tigers.

Nationals infielder Jordy Mercer collected his 300th RBI after sitting on 299 since 2019.

With the Nationals leading by two in the bottom of the fifth inning in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, Mercer belted the second pitch he saw to deep left field. For a guy who has 65 home runs in over 3000 at bats, the home run in itself was kind of a feat. By that point, Trea Turner had already gone deep and later Starlin Castro would join the party.

While Mercer’s playing time has been limited this year, leaving RBI opportunities few and far between, he has had ten at-bats with runners in scoring position. He had zero hits during that time and struck out in his one at bat with a guy on third base with less than two outs.

Even with this being his first HR and RBI in a Nationals uniform, in the team’s 78th game, Mercer has been a decent addition as a utility player. He’s hitting .270 as mostly a singles hitter, though his greatest contribution is on the defensive side. Mercer has played five different positions and has recently been inserted as a defensive substitution late in games.

Some are calling for Mercer to be designated for assignment. The Nationals don’t appear ready to move Luis Garcia to the big league roster permanently, and any upgrade found on the market will most likely be minimal at best. There are more pressing issues in Washington than a backup infielder.

For the time being Mercer will continue to do what he can, and as far as statistics go, he’s finally reached the 300 RBI plateau.