Cubs trade Matt Mervis for utilityman in hopes of maximizing his upside

The Chicago Cubs have struck another deal, sending first baseman Matt Mervis to the Miami Marlins in exchange for utilityman Vidal Bruján.

Bruján was designated for assignment by the Marlins on Dec. 20 after a brief one-year stint in the organization. The 26-year-old is a former top second base prospect who has collected a total of 497 big-league at-bats over the last four seasons between Miami and Tampa Bay. In that span, Brujan has a .189/.261/.270 slash line with 21 doubles, 40 RBI and five stolen bases.

Those numbers are pretty ugly, but the main thing Bruján brings to the Cubs is versatility. Bruján is a switch hitter who saw time at multiple positions in 2024, including second base (31 games), shortstop (28 games), third base (14 games) and all three outfield positions (23 games total). After the Cubs front office cleaned out its bench spots by getting rid of Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal and Mike Tauchman, they needed a player like Bruján to fill out the bench and provide depth.

I don't expect Bruján to be a starter by any means, but his experience around the infield can help fill gaps when starters need rest. Rookie Matt Shaw, who has not yet taken his first Major League at-bat, is slated to be the starting third baseman in 2025 so Bruján could provide some insurance at the hot corner.

Bruján was also a big base-stealing threat in the minor leagues, collecting an impressive 240 stolen bases over nine minor-league seasons. That production hasn't shown up at the big-league level but that may be because Bruján hasn't had an everyday role and has mostly failed to get on base at a decent clip (.261 career OBP). In any case, Bruján should at least provide average speed and be capable of a pinch-running role as well.

Was it worth giving up Matt Mervis?

Matt Mervis, who is turning 27 in April, simply did not pan out for the Cubs. That doesn't mean he won't have a future in MLB, it just wasn't going to happen with Chicago. In his brief big-league stints in 2023 and 2024, Mervis slashed .155/.222/.259 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 116 at-bats. These numbers, most of which came in 27 games in 2023, weren't enough to establish Mervis as the Cubs' first baseman before they traded for Michael Busch.

Busch took the opportunity and ran with it last season, posting 21 home runs, a 2.8 bWAR, and developing into a more than capable defender in his first Major League season. Busch is under contract with the Cubs for another five seasons and looks poised to be a fixture at first base moving forward.

Busch's presence effectively blocked Mervis since the latter only plays first base. Mervis logged limited time at third in college but it looked hard enough for him to handle first base when he was with the Cubs. All things considered, Chicago was probably luck to get anything for Mervis considering his stock is fairly low. He is two full seasons removed from his breakout 2022 campaign where he mashed 36 home runs. His production with the Iowa Cubs cooled off significantly last year and he also spent some time on the injured list.

Mervis should get a nice opportunity in Miami though. The Marlins began 2024 with Josh Bell as their starting first baseman but traded him at the deadline. 29-year-old Jonah Bride stepped into the position but Mervis should still get a solid opportunity for the starting job in Spring Training.