Yermín Mercedes

Yermín Francisco Mercedes (born February 14, 1993), is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman, catcher, and designated hitter who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. He signed as an international free agent with the Washington Nationals in 2011 and made his MLB debut in 2020 with the White Sox. On April 3, 2021, he set a major league record as the first player in modern MLB history to begin a season with eight consecutive hits. He was named the MLB Rookie of the Month in April 2021.

Career Washington Nationals At 18 years of age, Mercedes signed as an international free agent with the Washington Nationals on March 3, 2011. He spent the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons with the DSL Nationals, hitting .302/.352/.396.327/.412/.398, and .255/359/.349 respectively. On August 24, 2013, Mercedes was released by the Nationals organization.

Independent Leagues Mercedes spent the 2014 season in independent baseball. He played for the Douglas Diablos and the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League, and for the San Angelo Colts of the United League Baseball.

Baltimore Orioles On September 8, 2014, Mercedes signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Mercedes split the 2017 season between Frederick and the Double–A Bowie Baysox, hitting a combined .276/.340/.455 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 380 at bats. He spent the 2018 season with the High–A Winston-Salem Dash, hitting .289/.362/.478 with 14 home runs (7th in the Carolina League) and 64 RBI (7th) in 360 at bats, playing 79 games at catcher and 14 games at first base. He caught 41% of attempted basestealers. He caught 44% of attempted basestealers. Playing for Licey in the Dominican Winter League he hit .341/.375/.477 in 44 at bats, playing catcher, first base, and left field. He made his MLB debut the following day as a pinch hitter, grounding out in his only plate appearance for the season.

2021; AL Rookie of the Month Mercedes recorded the first hit of his major league career on April 2, 2021, when he hit a single against the Los Angeles Angels. In the same game, he became the first player in Chicago White Sox history to record five hits in their first major league start. The following day, Mercedes had hits in his first three at bats, including his first Major League home run off of Alex Cobb, becoming the first player since at least 1900 to begin a season with eight straight hits. On April 5, Mercedes was named the American League Player of the Week after batting 9-for-14 with a .643 batting average, 1.643 OPS, and six RBI.

On April 8, Mercedes hit his first home run at Guaranteed Rate Field off of Brad Keller of the Kansas City Royals. His home run was measured at 485 feet; it was the third-longest home run in major league baseball in 2021, and the longest regular-season home run for the White Sox in the Statcast era (since 2015). On April 19, Mercedes made his first pitching appearance during a game against the Red Sox. Mercedes was named the American League Rookie of the Month for the games played in April, in which he batted .415/.455/.659 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 88 plate appearances.

On May 17, in a game against the Minnesota Twins, Mercedes hit a home run to center field on a 3–0 count with an 11-run lead while Willians Astudillo, a position player who had retired the first two batters in the inning, was pitching; in 4 innings Astudillo pitched that season, it was the only hit that he gave up. White Sox manager, 76-year-old Tony La Russa who had just come out of a 10-year retirement, publicly criticized rookie Mercedes in a 15-minute discussion with the press for violating the unwritten rules of baseball, calling him "clueless," and didn't have a problem when the Twins later threw behind Mercedes in apparent retaliation. In contrast, teammates of Mercedes, as well as opponents including pitcher Alex Wood, supported him. He was demoted back to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on July 2. On July 21, Mercedes announced via his Instagram account that he would be taking an indefinite leave from professional baseball, but the following day Mercedes returned to Charlotte.

In 2021 with the White Sox, Mercedes batted .271/.328/.404 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 240 at bats, playing 61 games at DH, two at catcher, and one each at first base and pitcher. With Charlotte he batted .275/.318/.464 with 11 home runs, 32 runs, and 29 RBI in 222 at bats, splitting time in the field between first base and catcher with an inning at third base. He returned to Charlotte in May, where he hit .230/.376/.425 with 4 home runs, 14 runs, and 13 RBI in 87 at bats over 25 games, playing 16 games at DH and 9 games at first base. Mercedes was designated for assignment on June 12, 2022.

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants claimed Mercedes off of waivers on June 18, 2022. They promoted him to the major leagues on June 26. In 31 games for the Giants, Mercedes batted .233/.325/.342 with one home run and 8 RBI. On September 9, Mercedes was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats following the promotion of Austin Dean. On October 14, Mercedes was released by the Giants.

Acereros de Monclova On April 12, 2023, Mercedes signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. In 20 games, he batted .236/.345/.389 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. Mercedes was released by the team on May 15. Prior to the start of the season on April 26, Mercedes signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. In 75 games for Saltillo, he hit .300/.372/.470 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and eight stolen bases. On December 3, Mercedes was released by the Saraperos.

Centauros de La Guaira In 2025, Mercedes signed with the Centauros de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Major League. He became a free agent following the season.