Mervis (hand) was reinstated from Triple-A Iowa's 7-day injured list Tuesday and has gone 4-for-17 with five walks since rejoining the lineup.
Mervis missed about six-and-a-half weeks with a hand injury and didn't require a rehab assignment before being activated. The 26-year-old has spent the majority of the season at Iowa, slashing .238/.332/.463 with 13 home runs and two stolen bases over 60 games.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Lands on IL with hand injury
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Triple-A Iowa placed Mervis on its 7-day injured list July 4 with an apparent hand injury, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports.
The Triple-A club hasn't provided official word on the nature of Mervis' injury, though Birch notes that the first baseman is suspected to be dealing with a broken hamate bone. Since being optioned to Iowa on May 4 after an abbreviated stint with the Cubs, Mervis was slashing .215/.286/.424 with eight home runs and a 26.7-percent strikeout rate over 37 games.
The Cubs optioned Mervis to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday.
Mervis was called up to the big club April 23 after a strong start in Triple-A, where he slashed .288/.402/.606 with six doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI over 82 plate appearances with Iowa. That hasn't translated to the majors, as he's gone 3-for-26 with three RBI and eight strikeouts over nine games, and manager Craig Counsell noted that Mervis needs to go "back to the drawing board" in Triple-A, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The Cubs called up infielder Miles Mastrobuoni in a corresponding move.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Heads to bench Thursday
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Mervis is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.
Patrick Wisdom will get the nod at designated hitter while Mervis sits for the second time in three games. Mervis has still started in seven of the Cubs' last 10 games overall, but he's gone just 3-for-23 with one walk over that stretch. The 26-year-old could soon be at risk of a demotion to Triple-A Iowa if he doesn't turn things around in the near future.
Mervis is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.
Following his promotion from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Mervis served as the Cubs' designated hitter in both of the ensuing two games, going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts between those contests. Though he'll retreat to the bench Thursday, the lefty-hitting Mervis will likely see the bulk of the starts at DH against right-handed pitching until the Cubs get Seiya Suzuki (oblique) back from the 10-day injured list.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Batting eighth in season debut
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Mervis was recalled from Triple-A Iowa and is batting eighth as the designated hitter Tuesday against the Astros, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The 26-year-old was called up as expected Tuesday and will immediately make his way into the starting nine. Michael Busch has earned an everyday role at first base with his hot start to the season, so Mervis is likely to see most of his playing time at designated hitter, especially while Seiya Suzuki (oblique) remains sidelined.
The Cubs are expected to recall Mervis from Triple-A Iowa prior to Tuesday's game against the Astros, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.
Hayden Wesneski is also headed back to the majors, per Birch. There's no word yet on what the corresponding moves will be, but Wesneski would have to replace an injured player since he hasn't been down 10 days yet. That could point to an injured list stint for Ian Happ (hamstring). Mervis is slashing .288/.402/.606 with five home runs and a 19:12 K:BB over his first 82 plate appearances with Iowa this season. He could see some action in the designated hitter spot for the Cubs.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Off to strong start at Triple-A
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Through 13 games with Triple-A Iowa, Mervis is batting .333 with four home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.112 OPS.
Mervis has been locked in to start the season and looks like a player ready to return to the majors. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut last season but struggled, recording a .167/.242/.289 slash line across 27 games, to go along with a 32.3 percent strikeout rate. Mervis is limited to first base and designated hitter, and there's not much he can do at Triple-A to improve his dynasty stock, given that he's 26 years old and this is his third year at that level.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Roster bid falls short
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The Cubs optioned Mervis to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.
Despite posting a strong slash line of .300/.432/.400 in 19 Cactus League games, Mervis fell well shy of making the season-opening 26-man roster, as he was cut with 42 players still remaining in big-league camp. After a rough showing in his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, Mervis will likely need to mash at Iowa and/or wait for an injury to hit the Cubs' first-base/designated-hitter ranks before he gets another extended opportunity in Chicago.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Decent spring so far
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Despite going 0-for-4 in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox, Mervis is batting a solid .259 this spring with a .782 OPS.
While the numbers don't jump off the page, they're an improvement from 2023, when Mervis batted just .167 with a .531 OPS across 27 games, which marked his MLB debut. This year, the 25-year-old may have to settle for a bench role due to Michael Busch now being on the roster and expected to start at first. However, both players are fairly inexperienced at the MLB level, so Mervis could emerge if Busch struggles.
With January trade addition Michael Busch likely to play first base, per Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com, Mervis may have to settle for a bench role to begin the season.
Busch is not considered a great defender, but the team seems to want his slugging bat in the lineup, which could come at the expense of Mervis at first base. Mervis and Busch are young players with some upside, though both struggled during their respective MLB debuts last season, with strikeouts a key problem for each player. The situation at first appears to be fluid, but for now consider the outlook for Mervis to be somewhat dampened by the arrival of Busch.
