The Chicago Cubs intend to promote top first base prospect Matt Mervis, a source relayed to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Chicago is yet to confirm the news, which broke first in the midst of innings of Thursday’s series finale.
Here is the back story for this development: The Cubs’ sleeping offense awoke a bit on Thursday to stage a three-run comeback before falling to a 4-3 walk-off loss to the Washington Nationals, in Washington, where Alex Call’s game-winning home run off Brad Boxberger ended Chicago’s uninspiring road trip on another disappointing note. News that reinforcements were being brought in had broken before this happened.
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Matt Mervis was one of baseball’s best prospects in 2022 when he shelled out 36 homers across three levels and led the minor in extra-base hits, total bases and RBIs. Mervis also got off to a strong start this season with Triple-A Iowa, batting .286/.42/.560 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 24 games. Mervis did not just continuously crush it at Major League pitching, but he showed impressive patience in Iowa too, walking (18) almost as much as he struck out (19).
This is what Chicago should expect from its No.6 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline:
“Mervis features the best combination of power and contact in the Cubs system, and he took off when he improved his bat path and his swing decisions. His bat speed and the strength in his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame are obvious, but he’s more than just a masher. His relatively compact left-handed swing enables him to make consistent hard contact and he did a much better job of handling same-side pitchers in 2022 than he did in his debut.”
Chicago needs to make one corresponding move to include Mervis, who is not on the 40-man roster. Their live roster features two skilled primary first basemen, Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer, who like Mervis, have low defensive flexibility. But he will be joining a lineup that could benefit from a shot in the arm after struggling heavily in its 1-6 road trip.
In total, the Cubs have averaged 3.5 runs per game and hit .180 with runners in scoring position over their past 12 games. They lost 9 of those 12.
“These are definitely the moments that test teams,” said right-hander Jameson Taillon, who returned from the injured list to throw three innings in his first start since April 15. “But I think it helps that we’ve had a lot of guys who have run the race of 162 for many, many years. You know that these types of tough losses happen and you don’t want to overreact. Obviously, it’s not time to hit the panic button or anything. But I think we’re going home with maybe a sense of urgency, like, ‘Let’s step on it a little bit, get back on track.’”
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When the Cubs exited Chicago a week ago, the team was four matches over .500 and were just off a series victory against the San Diego Padres, preparing for a pair of upcoming series against two of the NL’s weaker clubs. They will take back a game lower than .500, dropping three of four to Washington despite getting fantastic pitching all week. That was delivered on Thursday by Javier Assad, who breezed through five scoreless innings behind Taillon before the offense stirred awake.
Patrick Corbin staged the Cubs to two hits over the first seven innings before Mancini and Miguel Amaya tailed RBIs in the eighth. Nico Hoerner connected a game-tying single off Hunter Harvey later on in the frame, but Chicago blew a second-and-third, no-out opportunity in the ninth before Call’s first-pitch home run off Boxberger.
Chicago’s offense splits so far this year are bad:
First 19 games: 6.0 runs per game, .290 AVG, .820 OPS, .326 AVG w/RISP
Last 12 games: 3.5 runs per game, .235 AVG, .703 OPS, .180 AVG w/RISP
Another bat may help the Cubs. That is where Matt Mervis comes in, making him an anticipated MLB debut this week.
“[Today] was a tough loss, for sure,” manager David Ross said. “Definitely a tough loss. But this group’s shown they don’t quit. They fight really hard.”
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