Yermin Mercedes To Retire?

 

A cryptic social media post by Chicago White Sox designated hitter Yermin Mercedes has some fearing he is quitting baseball. His Instagram post references retirement, and he deleted all of his baseball posts...

Yermin posting about retiring on his story and deleted all his baseball posts... I hope everything is ok pic.twitter.com/0SGoS98XLl

— NorthSideYoanStanSoxFan (@Northside_Sox) July 21, 2021

wait wtf yermin no pic.twitter.com/NQsjsTWK1w

— mlb20.cardart (@MLB20CARDART) July 21, 2021

The 28-year-old rookie started the season as the "feel-good story" of baseball, posting a 1.113 OPS in April with 5 home runs and a .402 batting average. 

Things started to go downhill on May 17th, when "The Yerminator" hit a HR on a 3-0 count against Minnesota position player Willans Astudillo in a White Sox blowout win. Chicago's 76-year-old manager Tony LaRussa blasted Mercedes in the media after the game, calling him "clueless", and saying he broke baseball's "unwritten rule" by swinging at the 3-0 pitch in that situation. 

Needless to say, everyone in baseball sided with Mercedes. 

Tony La Russa Ripped His Own Player Yermin Mercedes For Hitting a Homer Off a Position Player on a 3-0 Count Because He’s An Out Of Touch, Delusional Human Being https://t.co/VqEWYqmO5l pic.twitter.com/iZ70973R0U

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 18, 2021

That, however, seems to have been the start of the downfall for "The Yerminator"; he struggled after that, hitting just .196 with a .536 OPS since then, with only 2 home runs in a two-month period. 

He was demoted to Triple-A on July 2nd. Could all of that have led to his "El Retiro" Instagram Story? 

Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports