Chicago Cubs being competitive lessens need for rushed minor-league promotions

The Chicago Cubs may have had their most exciting victory of the season on Monday night against the Seattle Mariners as second baseman Nico Hoerner's bloop single in the 10th inning scored Nick Madrigal in what was the Cubs' first walk-off win of the season.

In highlighting the victory for The Athletic, Patrick Mooney touched on how Monday's win could be the first big moment that the Cubs will experience this season. Mooney spoke with veteran catcher Yan Gomes about the victory and the emphasis was on how the Cubs have competed through nearly the first two weeks of the regular season.

"“Getting off to a good start is important for anybody,” Gomes said. “But at the same time, it’s important to understand what we’re building here. If we lose a series, if we lose a couple games, we can’t hang our heads. We got way too good of a team, way too good of a culture, way too good of a fan base behind us every single game to hang our heads. We’ve built a team, from top to bottom, that can really do this. We got a lot of experience here. When something happens, we got 10 to 15 guys that have done it already. We can turn to different things.”"

- Yan Gomes via The Athletic

The Cubs have won four of their last five games and the team sits with a record of 5-4. The success that the Cubs have found at the beginning of the season should quell the idea of "if the Cubs are intent on competing at the Major League level, then Christopher Morel and Matt Mervis should be on the Major League roster".

That isn't true. The Cubs are competing at the Major League level and this has created the sense that the team does not need to rush with the promotions of Morel or some of their top prospects in Mervis and outfielder Brennen Davis.

Critics of the Cubs' approach with Morel this season have pointed at Miles Mastrobuoni looking out of place in right field. That is a concern that will work itself out when Seiya Suzuki returns from the injured list this weekend. Mastrobuoni will slide into the more natural super-utility role off the bench and had Morel been up with the Major League team, it would have been an unnecessary disruption to the start of his 2023 season.

Veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer is off to a great start while playing first base for the Cubs this season. Hosmer's hot start has lessened the need for the Cubs to make a move to add power to their lineup in the form of Mervis.

It still seems most likely that when the end of the 2023 season is reached, Morel and Mervis will have played important games for the team at the Major League level. Fortunately, the Cubs' start to the season has allowed them not to rush the decision-making.