Cubs: Ranking the top 5 offseason needs for Chicago

Ranking the top 5 offseason needs for the Cubs: #4 – A first base answer

Earlier this week, I looked at the Cubs’ situation as it relates to first base, assuming Matt Mervis is going to have the inside track heading into camp next spring.

After all, Mervis hasn’t just been one of the best-performing prospects in the Cubs organization this year, but in all Minor League Baseball. The only reason we didn’t see him in Chicago here in September is the fact the team is facing a 40-man crunch and Mervis didn’t need to be protected from this year’s Rule 5 draft – unlike so many others.

Frank Schwindel’s brief tenure on the North Side drew to an unceremonious end recently and Alfonso Rivas has been inconsistent at the big league level, with his power totally evaporating. In other words, adding a proven commodity here wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

Anthony Rizzo reunion tour, anyone? Don’t hold your breath there. But I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest to see the Cubs go out and add a veteran bat, likely one with some power, to pair with Mervis at first as an insurance option. It won’t break the bank and will shore up a position the Cubs, frankly, need more from in 2023.