Gaither High School Retiring Mercado's Number

Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida will retire the budding outfielder's #13 in a ceremony on Saturday, February 8.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Indians outfielder Oscar Mercado will be honored by his alma mater, Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida, during a jersey retirement ceremony on Saturday, February 8.

Sat Feb 8, 2020, We are retiring #13 which current @Indians & former @GaitherBaseball @Osc_merc wore in HS. Event begins @ 12p & the BLUE GREY game following. Show your support for Oscar & your Cowboys as we get ready for our #RoadToStates2020 #GaitherBaseball #ForTheG #WhyNotUs pic.twitter.com/VocTySNKXW

— Gaither Baseball (@GaitherBaseball) February 2, 2020

The 25-year-old outfielder was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round following his senior season in 2013 and became the fourth Gaither alum to be promoted to the Major Leagues before making his debut on May 14, 2019. Mercado joins Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, 2002 World Series Game 5 winner Chad Zerbe and former Indians 15th-round draft pick, Chris Jones, as Cowboys to make it to the big leagues.

In the off-season, Mercado trains at Gaither’s Frank Permuy Park, where he refined his swing prior to a scorching Spring Training that aided in his promotion.

In his rookie campaign, Mercado slashed .269/.318/.443 over 115 appearances, adding 15 home runs and swiping 15 bases.

At TribeFest over the weekend, manager Terry Francona told reporters that Mercado figures to play a consistent role in the outfield in 2020.

"He’s going to play somewhere,” said Francona. “You can bet on that. Is that every day in center field? Is it sometimes in center field? That’s what we have to figure out. But we know we have an everyday player and we’re excited.”