Cubs will choose the first base prospect contract Matt Mervis, report Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’s not with the team for today’s series finale in DC but will join the Cubs when they return to Chicago tomorrow to start their home game against the Marlins.
Mervis, 25, was a National Team 39th-rounder in 2016 but didn’t sign, choosing instead to attend college at Duke. He was unselected in the shortened five-round iteration of the 2020 draft and ended up signing with the Cubs as an untrained free agent.
That proved to be pretty easy to find for the Cubs, as Mervis wasted no time pitching in the minor league and established himself as one of the organization’s top-rated prospects. Over the past two seasons, Mervis has skyrocketed from High-A to Triple-A (and now Majors), beating a total of 0.305/.383/.615 with 42 home runs in 161 games in three minor league level. That includes a hot .286/.402/.560 slash and six home runs in his first 112 appearances in Triple-A this season.
American baseball Mervis’s fourth rating among Cubs farmers, while MLB.com have a Friday brother. Mervis is generally considered a player with all-round prospects, as he is a sub-standard runner and not a standout defender in first-base. BA’s report on him notes that a shortened spin and refined approach at the disc opened a new level of performance for Mervis in 2022, and he’s clearly maintained that into the year. 2023, given that he was walking (16.1%) almost as often as he punched out (17%). Mervis hit left-handers badly against left-handed pitchers in his first professional season, but he improved to 0.268/.339/.529 against southern pitchers in 174 appearances. last year and is 6 to 20 with two hosts, two doubles, six walks and six strikes in 27 games against forehand opponents so far in 2023 (.300/ .482/.700).
Mervis’ ascent to the major leagues comes at a time when the first veteran player Eric Hosmer are struggling, beating just 0.250/.294/.363 in 85 appearances. The Cubs’ first base soldiers still hit 0.296/.331/.470 during the season, though that’s skewed by the fact that the majority Trey ManciniHis production happened while he was playing on the first base instead of off the field or at the designated hitter. Mancini is certainly capable of playing in both corners off the field and has enough clubs to be an option at DH, so there’s still room to include both in the lineup.
Keeping Hosmer, who is also a backhand, playing only the first base on the roster alongside Mervis would be more complicated, although there’s no direct indication yet that Mervis’ promotion makes his spot in the Premier League. Hosmer’s list is in jeopardy. Hosmer himself recently admitted that it could end like this in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athleticalthough he has said nothing but support for Mervis.
“This is my 13th year in the league,” Hosmer told Rosenthal. “I am not going to sit here and be bitter about a teenager. That’s not right. … I’m having a spring break with Matty. I always try to help, give him my two cents on what’s going to happen to him in the tournament, how you can simplify some things. It’s not something I’m watching over my shoulder, or dying at the hands of his bats. When that time comes, that’s when you can move on and do something else. I know he will be an important part of this organization. I have to help him in any way I can.”
While future optional missions can always affect player timelines for referees and free agents, it’s at least worth outlining where those milestones are now for with Mervis. If he does well in the major leagues from this point on, he won’t be able to serve a full year in 2023 (except for making the top two in the NL Rookie of the Year vote). That means he will have enough time to come to free agency after the 2029 season, although a call in early May will certainly give him enough service time to qualify as a free agent. Super Two player. As a result, he will approach the referee after the 2025 season and qualify four times instead of the standard three.
If Mervis do manages to secure second place in the NL Rookie of the Year vote, he will have a full year of service and pass his free agent timeline through the 2028-29 season in the process. This. He is still eligible to participate after the 2025 season, but he will go there as a player with three years of service and therefore only qualified three times.
