Phillies castoff loved getting much-needed revenge on Zack Wheeler with Braves

Baseball is a business. To the front office members, the players are nothing more than their value to the team. Owners and general managers are looking for the best 26 players that can help them win a World Series.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, they didn't think that utilityman Whit Merrifield was among their top 26 players, so they designated him for assignment.

And honestly, the Phillies were right in their decision to do so. Merrifield was 35 years old and slashing .199/.277/.295 as a utility depth piece. They needed better players to help them push towards their ultimate goal, and Merrifield didn't fit the bill.

In a Hollywood-esque move, Merrifield landed with the Phillies' biggest rival, the Atlanta Braves.

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Whit Merrifield clubs two XBH against former team, Zack Wheeler in Braves win

For the first time since being cut from the Phillies, Merrifield matched up with his former team.

Just as you would expect, the player that totaled just four doubles and a triple in 156 at bats with the Phillies would go on to collect a double and a triple, both coming against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, to help push the Braves past the Phillies.

“You want to treat it like another game,” said Merrifield, whose extra-base hits came against Phillies ace Wheeler. “But to contribute and play well against a team that told you that you weren’t good enough to play for them, it feels good.”

It's hard to not be happy for the veteran infielder that obviously took the decision to cut him personally. Now he has a few more games and the rest of the season to continue to prove the Phillies made a mistake to get rid of him.

In his time as a member of the Braves, Merrifield has looked much better. Across 20 games and 58 at bats, he's slashing .259/.386/.414 with an .800 OPS and an OPS+ of 124. He's been a quality piece for the Braves.

Yes, baseball is a business, but these are still human beings, at the end of the day. Merrifield took Philadelphia's business decision to cut him in stride, and now he's trying to make them pay for their mistake.