White Sox: Tony La Russa reacts to Yermin Mercedes’ retirement

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa commented on rookie Yermin Mercedes’ shocking retirement announcement on Wednesday night.

The MLB world received some rather shocking news on Wednesday night, right in the middle of regular-season games being played. Chicago White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes announced on his personal Instagram account that he is walking away from the game of baseball with a photo of text reading “it’s over.”

After the White Sox released a statement saying that they have not heard anything official from Mercedes himself, manager Tony La Russa commented on the news. La Russa said, via James Fegan of The Athletic, that he will reach out to Mercedes to assure him that “he has a major league future.”

Tony La Russa to speak with Yermin Mercedes about retirement

Mercedes got off to a torrid start in the month of April, where he slashed .415/.455/.659 while recording five home runs, 16 RBI, 10 runs scored and 34 hits through 22 games. After that month, Mercedes’ production took a hit up until the end of June.

Earlier this month, Mercedes was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, where he put up solid numbers in the batter’s box. Through 15 games, the slugger slashed .298/.365/.632 while posting four home runs, 10 RBI, 12 runs scored and 17 hits.

Shortly after Mercedes’ Instagram post went viral, the White Sox released the following statement, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers:

“The White Sox are aware of tonight’s Instagram post by Yermín Mercedes, who is currently on the active roster of our Class AAA team in Charlotte, NC. At this point in time, the White Sox have not received any official notification from Yermín concerning his future plans.”

La Russa, like many baseball fans, was left in a state of shock upon finding out that Mercedes is stepping away from baseball “for a while.” Let’s see if Mercedes will stick to his guns, or if a talk with La Russa will help change his mind about halting his promising MLB career.