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.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Sent down to Triple-A
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Not starting Thursday
Rotowire
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: Expected to be called up
Rotowire
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: Roster bid falls short
Rotowire
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: Optioned to Iowa
Rotowire
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: 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: 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: 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.
