MERCADO JOINS LIGHTS

No Elcano? No problem! The Salem Lights went out and found Elcano's replacement, that being Rigo Mercado. Mercado and Salem agreed to a 3-year/$26.9M deal.

Mercado goes right into the starting lineup as the Lights' new 1B. He rejected a deal late last season to remain in Austin, and was dead set on testing free agency. Mercado probably won't hit for as high an average as Elcano will, but Mercado's HR hitting and run-producing ability ranks right up there. Salem won't skip a beat.