Dodgers minors: Kolten Wong, Óscar Mercado join Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers signed outfielder Óscar Mercado to a minor league contract on Friday. Both he and infielder Kolten Wong, also a recent signee, joined Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Wong signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers on August 9 and played a pair of games in the Arizona Complex League before joining Oklahoma City. An above-average hitter in each of the last two years — 109 and 116 wRC+ with the Brewers in 2021 and 2022, respectively — Wong cratered at the plate this year with the Mariners, hitting just .165/.241/.227 with a 35 wRC+ in 67 games.

He played shortstop in his first game for Oklahoma City. Wong had one hit in his four at-bats, an RBI single in the first inning.

Mercado is on his third organization this season, starting the year with the Cardinals, for whom he had nine hits in 31 at-bats (.290/.313/.387) with three doubles in 20 games. After getting designated for assignment by St. Louis and opting for free agency in July, Mercado signed a minor league deal with the Padres, which he opted out of this week.

In between Memphis and El Paso in two different Triple-A leagues this season, Mercado hit .308/.379/.544 with a 122 wRC+, 17 doubles, 12 home runs, and 25 stolen bases in 65 games.

The 28-year-old in parts of five major league seasons with the Guardians, Phillies, and Cardinals has hit .237/.289/.388 with a 82 wRC+. He did not play on Saturday for Oklahoma City.

Player of the day

Dalton Rushing homered in both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader for Great Lakes, breaking out of of a two-month slump that saw him spend two stints on the injured list.

Rushing snapped an 0-for-38 skid with a home run on Friday night. In the first game Saturday, Rushing the first baseman hit a solo short in the seventh inning. In the night cap, Rushing was behind the plate, and his two-run home run in the second inning put the Loons on top for good.

His three home runs in the last three games are one more than his total over the previous 51 games.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Emmet Sheehan allowed five runs in the second inning in Oklahoma City’s loss to the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies). The big blow was a three-run home run, and Sheehan recorded only five outs in his start.

Blake Treinen pitched his first game for Oklahoma City after moving his rehab assignment to Triple-A earlier in the week. He hit a batter to open the fifth inning, but then retired the next three to finish out a scoreless frame.

Jorbit Vivas had two hits, his first multi-hit game since getting promoted to Triple-A on Tuesday.

Double-A Tulsa

Five runs in the seventh and three runs in the eighth completed Tulsa’s comeback win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals).

Carson Taylor hit a two-run home run to start the five-run seventh. Luis Yanel Diaz hit a two-run single to tie the game, to go with his RBI single from earlier in the game. The Drillers led by one after that seventh-inning rally, but allowed a run in the bottom of the frame to tie things up again.

No matter, as Austin Gauthier hit a two-run single to re-grab the lead, this time for good. It was part of a two-hit game for Gauthier, extending his hit streak to eight games.

Yusniel Díaz drove in a run in both the seventh and eighth innings.

High-A Great Lakes

Jerming Rosario struck out seven in five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit in the nightcap, earning Great Lakes a doubleheader split with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). Rosario faced the minimum. After he retired his first 12 batters, Rosario allowed a leadoff single in the fifth, but that runner was quickly erased on a caught stealing.

Maddux Bruns allowed four runs in the first game, three coming in the fifth inning that ended his day after only one out in the frame. Bruns walked four, matching his strikeout total, and has a 16.8-percent walk rate in his 18 starts with the Loons.

Rushing drove in three runs in the doubleheader for Great Lakes. Yeiner Fernandez also drove three runs Saturday. He had a sacrifice fly as the second baseman in the first game, then hit a two-run double as the DH in the nightcap.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

A three-run fourth inning against starter Roque Gutierrez proved enough for the Quakes to lost to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

Kendall George, the Dodgers first draft pick this year, was promoted to the Quakes after playing 16 games in the Arizona Complex League. At 18 years, 301 days old on Saturday, George is the second-youngest player on the Rancho Cucamonga roster, older than only fellow outfielder Josue De Paula (18 years, 94 days).

Those two batted one-two for the Quakes on Saturday, and De Paula doubled home George, who walked, in the third inning.

Transactions

Triple-A: Outfielder Óscar Mercado joined Oklahoma City. On Friday, Kolten Wong joined OKC. Pitcher Nick Frasso will be promoted to OKC to start on Sunday, per broadcaster Alex Freedman. Frasso had a 3.94 ERA, 94 strikeouts (29.8-percent K rate) and 24 walks in 73⅔ innings for Tulsa.

Double-A: Right-hander Reinaldo De Paula was promoted to Tulsa after a 4.30 ERA, 53 strikeouts (27.2-percent K rate), and 17 walks in 44 innings with Great Lakes.

Low-A: Outfielder Kendall George was promoted to the Quakes. Outfielder Dylan Campbell was placed on the 7-day injured list.

Saturday scores

• Albuquerque 8, Oklahoma City 2
• Tulsa 10, NW Arkansas 6
• Fort Wayne 4, Great Lakes 2 (Game 1)
• Great Lakes 5, Fort Wayne 0 (Game 2)
• Lake Elsinore 5, Rancho Cucamonga 2

Sunday schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Hyun-il Choi) vs. Fort Wayne (Victor Lizarraga)
• 12:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Ben Casparius) at NW Arkansas (Chandler Champlain)
• 4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Nick Frasso) vs. Albuquerque (Connor Seabold)
• 5 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Christian Romero) vs. Lake Elsinore (Henry Martinez)