Marlins acquire former top first-base prospect from Cubs. What Miami is getting
The Marlins got (potentially) something for nothing this week when they acquired a former top Chicago Cubs first-base prospect for a player they had already designated for assignment.
In dealing infielder Vidal Brujan for first baseman Matt Mervis, the Marlins are hoping the 26-year-old slugger can recapture his 2022 form, when he led the minors with 119 RBI and 78 extra-base hits while splitting the season between Single A, Double A and Triple A. His 40 doubles that season were second most in the minors and his 36 homers were third most.
Evaluators were impressed; MLB.com rated him the fourth-best first base prospect heading into the 2023 season.
He hit .282 (.399 on base) with 22 homers and 78 RBI in 100 games in Triple A in 2023, but struggled (.167, 32 strikeouts) in 99 plate appearances for the Cubs that season.
He was ranked the No. 6 first-base prospect in baseball before the 2024 season, but his numbers in Triple A regressed (.235, 15 homers, 43 RBI, 105 strikeouts in 81 games) and he again struggled during a big-league cameo for the Cubs, going 3 for 26 with eight strikeouts in 9 games (.115 batting average).
That left him at 18 for 116 (.155) with 40 strikeouts in 127 plate appearances in his brief big-league career, covering 36 games.
Here was MLB.com’s 2023 scouting report on Mervis, before he regressed last season:
“A two-way player at Duke, Mervis spent most of his first two college seasons as a pitcher before focusing on hitting in his final two years. A priority free agent after getting shut out in the shortened five-round 2020 Draft, he had offers from several clubs and signed with the Cubs for the maximum $20,000 permitted under pandemic rules. He quadrupled his home run output from nine in his 2021 pro debut to 36 last season while leading the Minors with 78 extra-base hits, 310 total bases and 119 RBI and ranking second in doubles (40), third in homers (36), fifth in slugging (.605) and eighth in OPS (.984).
“Mervis features the best combination of power and contact in the Cubs system, and he took off when he improved his bat path and his swing decisions — though he tried to do too much and struggled during his first big-league call-up this summer. His bat speed and the strength in his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame are obvious, but he’s more than just a masher. His relatively compact left-handed swing enables him to make consistent hard contact and he did a much better job of handling same-side pitchers in 2022 than he did in his debut.
“Though he’s a well-below-average runner, Mervis moves well enough to play an adequate first base. He has a strong arm that produced low-90s fastballs with high spin rates and solid low-80s sliders when he pitched in college. He played some third base at Duke but lacks the range to play there or in left field as a pro.”
Mervis, who grew up in Potomac, Maryland, joined the Cubs as an undrafted free agent out of Duke in 2020.
The Marlins see upside in the left-handed hitter, who played for the Israeli National Team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Mervis, who had a strong spring training for the Cubs last March, will battle for at-bats at first base, where Jonah Bride (.276, 11 homers, 39 RBI in 71 games) is the projected starter, and potentially at designated hitter. In the minors, Mervis played 331 games at first base, one at third and one in the outfield.
The Marlins’ 40-man roster is now full.
This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 9:23 AM.
