The Cubs optioned Mervis to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
There was a lot of hype around Mervis when he got the call to Chicago in early May, but he'll head back to the farm after posting a brutal .167/.242/.289 batting line with three home runs and 32 strikeouts across his first 99 big-league plate appearances. Cody Bellinger (knee) has been activated off the injured list in a corresponding roster move and is expected to factor in at first base moving forward.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Opens scoring Saturday
Rotowire
Mervis went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Giants.
Mervis was in quite the rough patch over his last nine games, going just 1-for-26 with a 3:11 BB:K. He at least put an end to his power drought with a third-inning solo shot off Jakob Junis that ended up being all the offense the Cubs needed. Mervis has three homers over his first 24 big-league games, but he's struggled to a .173/.247/.309 slash line with 10 RBI and eight runs scored through 89 plate appearances. He is likely to remain in a strong-side platoon role while learning on the job against major-league pitching. Trey Mancini figures to play first base against most lefties.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Out against lefty
Rotowire
Mervis isn't in the Cubs' lineup Thursday against the Angels.
With the left-handed Reid Detmers set to start the game on the mound for Los Angeles, Mervis will retreat to the dugout. Trey Mancini will fill in at first base and bat seventh.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Sitting against lefty
Rotowire
Mervis is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Padres.
Mervis will remain on the bench for a second game in a row as the Cubs face left-hander Blake Snell on Monday. Righty bat Trey Mancini will start at first base and bat seventh in the series finale with San Diego.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: On bench versus southpaw
Rotowire
Mervis is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
The 25-year-old will sit Sunday with lefty Ryan Weathers on the mound for San Diego, and it marks Mervis' fifth time on the bench in Chicago's last eight games. The first baseman is 0-for-16 with three walks and seven strikeouts dating back to May 24. Trey Mancini will receive the start at first base Sunday.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Sitting amid struggles
Rotowire
Mervis is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Rays.
Mervis has gone 0-for-11 with five strikeouts over his last four games and is slashing just .194/.275/.306 through his first 69 major-league plate appearances. Trey Mancini will start at first base for the Cubs on Tuesday and Christopher Morel will serve as the designated hitter.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Takes seat Sunday
Rotowire
Mervis is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Mervis is currently in the midst of an 0-for-9 skid over the last three games, so he'll get a day off to clear his head Sunday. Trey Mancini will replace Mervis as the starting first baseman and will hit sixth.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Goes deep Tuesday
Rotowire
Mervis went 2-for-3 with a walk, a two-run home run, three total RBI an additional run in Tuesday's win over the Mets.
Mervis was dropped to ninth in the order for the first time all season, but the 25-year-old responded with arguably his best game of the year. The Cubs have veterans Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini on hand, but Mervis figures to keep seeing regular playing time at first base as the team looks to get him acclimated to the MLB level, and efforts like this certainly help his cause.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Dropped to ninth in lineup
Rotowire
Mervis has been dropped to the ninth spot in the lineup Tuesday against the Mets.
This is the lowest lineup spot yet for the highly-touted young first baseman, who has struggled to a .208/.255/.292 slash line through his first 51 major-league plate appearances with the Cubs. Mervis seems sure to get it going at some point, and maybe a little less pressure will help the cause toward a breakout.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Not in starting lineup Friday
Rotowire
Mervis is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Phillies.
Trey Mancini will play first base and bat sixth with left-hander Ranger Suarez on the mound for Philly. Patrick Wisdom is serving as the DH and Nick Madrigal is covering third base. Mervis has slashed just .220/.256/.317 through his first 43 major-league plate appearances, and he's struck out six times in 10 PAs against lefties.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Heads to bench against lefty
Rotowire
Mervis is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
With southpaw Framber Valdez on the bump for Houston in the series opener, the lefty-hitting Mervis will give way to Trey Mancini at first base. Since his call-up from Triple-A Iowa on May 5, Mervis has started in eight of the Cubs' subsequent 10 games while hitting .219 with a 41.2 percent strikeout rate.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Drives in run in debut
Rotowire
Mervis went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 4-1 win over the Marlins.
Getting the start at first base and batting seventh, Mervis didn't have an eye-popping big-league debut but did bring home Cody Bellinger with a single in the eighth inning for the game's final run. Mervis figures to hold down a regular spot in the lineup as the Cubs see what their top hitting prospect can do, but if the 25-year-old does stumble out of the game, Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer remain available to cut into his workload -- at least for the moment.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: In line for Friday call-up
Rotowire
The Cubs are expected to promote Mervis from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Mervis had a massive breakout season in the minors last year (.984 OPS, 36 home runs, 119 RBI in 137 games) as he ascended through three different levels of the Cubs' farm system, and he's backed it up out of the gate here in 2023 with a .962 OPS in 24 games at Triple-A Iowa. The 25-year-old should get everyday playing time between first base and designated hitter and offers high-level fantasy upside in the power department. Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer could both be dinged on playing time with the arrival of Mervis, though that should be a good thing overall for Chicago's offense.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Nothing left to prove at Triple-A
Rotowire
Mervis is slashing .267/.426/.533 with three home runs and more walks (13) than strikeouts (11) through 61 plate appearances with Triple-A Iowa.
Mervis, who just turned 25, had a 152 wRC+ in 57 games at Triple-A last year, so it would have been disappointing if he'd not gotten off to a great start in 2023. Nonetheless, his 21.3 percent walk rate is pretty eye opening -- he had a 10.4 percent walk rate in 240 plate appearances for Iowa last year. Trey Mancini (-0.7 fWAR), Eric Hosmer (-0.1 fWAR) and Edwin Rios (-0.2 fWAR) have all been below replacement-level players so far this season, so Mervis could get a look sooner than later.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Struggles in WBC
Rotowire
Mervis finished the World Baseball Classic 1-for-13 with a walk while playing for Team Israel.
Mervis faced some stiff MLB-level competition in a pool that featured the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, so the struggles aren't too surprising. The 24-year-old is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Iowa, though he likely isn't that far away from his debut in the majors. Mervis had an OPS north of .900 at both Double-A and Triple-A in 2022 and could make a fantasy impact if he sees regular playing time for the Cubs at any point.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Likely to open 2023 at Triple-A
Rotowire
Mervis will "almost certainly" begin the 2023 season at Triple-A Iowa following the Cubs' offseason signings of Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini, Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report.
Though Hosmer and Mancini will be due less than $8 million combined in 2023, the Cubs brought the two veterans aboard with the intention of having them see the bulk of the starts at first base and designated hitter, respectively, to begin the campaign. Because Mervis is a left-handed hitter like Hosmer and the righty-hitting Mancini has performed similarly against right- and left-handed pitching during his career, the Cubs wouldn't have a short-side platoon role available for the 24-year-old, who looks like he'll have to wait for an injury or for one of the two incumbents to struggle before he gets his first taste of the majors. While the offseason moves are disappointing development for Mervis investors who were expecting the power-hitting first baseman to claim an Opening Day role on the heels of a breakout season at the upper levels of the minors and a productive run in the Arizona Fall League, his status as an older prospect along with the Cubs' relatively minimal investment in Hosmer and Mancini still bodes well for his chances at getting an extended run in the big leagues at some point in 2023.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Could win job in spring training
Rotowire
Mervis is on the radar to win a roster spot in spring training next year, according to manager David Ross, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
"There's a big hole for me at first base," Ross said. "No doubt he'll have a great opportunity in front of him moving forward." Mervis has had an outstanding season across the three highest levels of the minors, and his strikeout and walk rates kept trending in the right direction against better competition. The 24-year-old lefty-hitting first baseman slashed .297/.387/.595 with 14 home runs, a 14.2 percent strikeout rate and a 10.7 percent walk rate in 54 games at Triple-A. He has 35 homers on the season. Despite not having any MLB experience, Mervis is arguably the most appealing first baseman on the Cubs' roster for 2023 fantasy value.
