NEWSLETTER
I’m sure Brett will want to discuss this in greater detail tomorrow morning, but for tonight, here’s the news: Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel has reportedly been optioned to Triple-A Iowa following tonight’s win over the Nationals at Wrigley Field.
(Also following this move to add a little power earlier in the day):
And while this is not necessarily the last we’ve seen of Frank Schwindel (the last time he was optioned to Iowa, he didn’t even play a single game!) it does certainly feel like the beginning of the end for the 2021 breakout first baseman.
Schwindel, 30, has dealt with injuries and ineffectiveness throughout the season, never really coming close to the guy the Cubs would have needed him to be in order to forego other options. The fact that Alfonso Rivas never really got going either bought him some time, but with Franmil Reyes in the fold as a righty power bat and Patrick Wisdom spending more time at first base, the Cubs have seemingly made their decision for now.
In the meantime, Schwindel may struggle to find playing time at first base in Iowa with Alfonso Rivas and Matt Mervis already on the roster … unless of course the Cubs use this opportunity to promote the latter to MLB.… so we’ll see how that plays out.
Just to be clear, I don’t have any idea if a Mervis promotion is actually coming — and for now, this move seems more directly tied to Reyes’ addition to the roster — but it’s not difficult to imagine that happening soon. The 24-year-old has three-game, multi-hit streak brewing including two doubles and a homer and is slashing .312/.371/.608 (155 wRC+) for the season. Let’s do it.
UPDATE: I should mention that Matt Mervis is not yet on the 40-man roster and also not Rule-5 eligible until NEXT offseason (December, 2023). That means that if he were promoted this season, he’d wind up taking a 40-man spot all offseason when he otherwise didn’t “have to”. It’s a non-zero consideration and a pretty significant hurdle to a short-term cup of coffee.
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Unrelated: What a crazy day today turned out to be for a post-deadline non-contender. Here’s just some of the stuff that happened, working backwards.
