1:28 p.m.: The deal is now official, according to a club announcement made by the Marlins.
12:27 p.m.: The Marlins are set to acquire a first baseman Matt Mervis from the Cubs, according to a report from Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that streak Vidal Bruján headed to Chicago for Mervis’ services. Brujan was designated for assignment by the Marlins last week. Maddie Lee of the Sun Times also reported that the Cubs are sending money to Miami alongside Mervis.
Mervis, 26, signed with the Cubs as an undrafted free agent back in 2020. After struggling in his professional debut in 2021, the slugger tore up the minor leagues in 2022, hitting an impressive .309/.379/.606 with 40 doubles and 36 homers in 137 in three levels of children. That included a long streak of success at the Triple-A level, where he hit .297/.383/.593 with 15 doubles and 15 homers in just 57 games. The performance was strong enough to earn Mervis a top-100 pick during the 2022-23 season, and his rapid ascent through the minors gave hope to a Cubs franchise that had recently acquired a longtime first baseman. Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees before the 2021 trade deadline.
Unfortunately, Mervis was unable to make the most of his opportunity when he first reached the big leagues in 2023. While he continued to record in Triple-A (.282/.399/.533 in 100 games), he struggled. in 99 major league plate appearances with a lackluster .167/.242/.289 slash line that was good for a 48 wRC+ that year. The solid batted ball data and .317 xwOBA indicated that Mervis may have been a little unlucky in his first cup of coffee in the majors, but his high 32.3% strikeout rate would have been a significant red flag even if he had gotten a better return on batted balls getting holes. That led to the Cubs moving away from Mervis last winter, trading for the Dodgers prospect Michael Busch and installing him as the team’s everyday first-team player.
Busch was an above-average hitter out of the gate with Chicago, posting a 119 wRC+ and 2.3 fWAR in his rookie season. Mervis, by contrast, appeared in just nine games and posted a terrible -4 wRC+ in that limited playing time. Even his minor league numbers have taken a step back this year, as he hit .235/.329/.434 (97 wRC+) in 81 games at Triple-A this past season. All of this made Mervis completely expendable in Chicago, so the club choosing to sell him is not surprising at all. With the Marlins rebuilding clubhouse, the Triple-A slugger is getting a bigger league opportunity than he ever had in Chicago. He will compete for playing time at first base with the starting quarterback Jonah the Bridewho impressed with a 123 wRC+ in 71 games for the Marlins last year but has yet to complete a wire-to-wire season in the majors for 29 years.
While Mervis isn’t a surefire big leaguer, the Marlins gave up very little to get him. Bruján, 27, was DFA’d by the Marlins last week to make room for the 40-man roster after struggling to produce like a regular major leaguer in 2024. Once a top 100 hitter with the Rays, Bruján failed to hit at all. in 99 games with Tampa over three seasons before facing Miami last winter. The Marlins made him a fixture of their bench mix this year, but he hit just .222/.303/.319 (73 wRC+) in 278 trips to the plate. Aside from that efficiency at the plate, Brujan has provided decent value as a decent baserunner and a very versatile outfielder. The switch-hitter mostly split his time between shortstop, second base, and third base in Miami last year but is also capable of playing all three outfield spots and even made brief cameos at first base and on the pitchers mound last year. the past.
That should be enough for Brujan to get a chance to compete for a bench job with the Cubs this spring. Chicago completely overhauled their bench this offseason, parting ways with it Christian Bethancourt, Mike Tauchman, Nick Madrigalagain Patrick Wisdom last month to make other choices. Carson Kelly joined the team list to form a tandem Miguel Amaya that will replace one bench, and one outfielder Alexander Canary Right now he looks ready to work as a defender for the team Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzukiagain Kyle Tucker. That leaves two spots up for grabs, and Brujan currently appears poised to compete for a Rule 5 draft pick. Gage Workman and internal options Miles Mastrobuoni again Luis Vasquez of those two spots, or another outside addition could fill at least one of those bench roles and only the catching tandem seems completely locked up in 2025.
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