With the second half underway the Atlanta Braves made a move to try to improve the team ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

Atlanta added former Phillies utilityman Whit Merrifield, who struggled in half a season with the Phillies, hitting just .199 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 53 games with Philadelphia.

The Phillies signed Merrifield during the offseason with a one-year, $8 million deal after an All-Star season in Toronto, where he hit .272 with 11 home runs and 26 stolen bases.

The addition of Merrifield comes with Atlanta losing Ozzie Albies with a fractured left wrist, which is expected to sidelined him for eight weeks.

Atlanta is now without three key stars, Albies, Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr.

The Braves are the N.L.'s top Wild Card team, but sit 8.5 games behind Philadelphia in the N.L. East. The two teams will face off seven more times before the end of the 202r season.

Top Ten Philly Athletes Age 25 or Younger

Philadelphia has some great young athletes right now, from All-Star Tyrese Maxey to two first-round draft picks on the Eagles Defensive Line (Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter). In honor of the Philly Sports Youth Movement, here is my ranking of the Top Ten Philadelphia Professional Athletes who are 25 years old or younger:

Gallery Credit: Josh Hennig/Townsquare Media

 

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