NEWSLETTER
Although this was absolutely warranted, how can you not be disappointed. After a second, golden opportunity to prove that his fantastic Triple-A numbers would translate to the big leagues, Matt Mervis has come up short and is headed back to Triple-A Iowa. Miles Mastrobuoni is coming back in his place.
Cubs Roster Move: Matt Mervis Demoted, Miles Mastrobuoni Recalled
The #Cubs today recalled INF Miles Mastrobuoni from @IowaCubs and optioned INF Matt Mervis to Iowa. pic.twitter.com/lBfXiqhchp— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 4, 2024
I saw his second golden opportunity, because Mervis had a clear opening last year, when the Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini experiments failed, but he all he could muster over his 99 PAs was a .167/.242/.290 (46 wRC+) slash line with a 32.3% strikeout rate.
And although he brought his strikeout rate down in this second chance – one that arose only because of multiple injuries to key position players – Mervis was even less productive in these nine games: .115/.148/.154 (-14 wRC+). But it’s not just about the results. That, too, was a small sample and it could be forgiven if he LOOKED comfortable or if there was something in the stats that made us believe a turnaround was coming.
But Mervis was walking just 3.6% of the time, striking out nearly 29%, and his average exit velocity, barrel%, and hard-hit% were all WAY down from even his underperforming debut last season. It was just clearly not working. Anyone could see that. And so for now, until Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki return at least, Mervis is swapped out for Miles Mastrobuoni, who will, along with Patrick Wisdom (today) and Nick Madrigal will likely take the majority of the DH chances. It’s a real bummer. Truly. Because I really don’t know if a third chance is going to happen anytime soon.
As for Mastrobuoni, I still think he’s a perfectly fine bench piece … but just for now. If Bellinger and Suzuki are really coming back soon (more on that in a moment), I rather the Cubs give this role to Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has a similar (but elevated) skillset and has so far proven that he probably does belong already. But let’s just take this one step at a time. For now, the news is simple: Matt Mervis is out, Mastrobuoni is back.
