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Chicago Cubs send struggling Matt Mervis back to Iowa
Cannot say there was a ton of surprise when Matt Mervis was sent back to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday morning. According to The Athletic's Patrick Mooney, Mervis was optioned to Iowa with Miles Mastrobuoni coming back up to take his spot on the Chicago Cubs' 26-man MLB roster.
The Chicago Cubs are expected to call up Miles Mastrobuoni and option Matt Mervis back to Triple-A Iowa before today’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 4, 2024
Mervis was called up recently after Cody Bellinger landed on the IL due to a rib injury. In Triple-A he was crushing the ball, hitting .288/.402/.606 with five homers and 1.009 OPS. Like last season, he came up after slaying Triple-A pitchers and struggled heavily in the Majors. He returns to Iowa after hitting just .115/.148/.154 with no homers and eight strikeouts in 28 MLB plate appearances. There was nothing fluky about the numbers either, he just did not look comfortable and was often overmatched.
Mervis is a career .278/.372/.532 hitter with 72 homers and 254 RBI in the Minors, while a .155/.222/.259 hitter in the Majors. Last season we saw struggles in his first MLB stint, but at least he did hit the ball hard on occasion, and we did not see him drive the ball in his second stint at all. He is 26 years old, and late bloomers do happen in the Majors, but as of right now, he looks like the very definition of a "Quad-A Player".
There may not be a third opportunity with the Cubs for Matt Mervis.
Unless he comes back up on an absolutely must-need basis, it feels like his possibly being a solidified piece on the Cubs has passed. One has to feel for him as he has worked very hard to get to the Majors, and he is a darn good MiLB player who rose through the system so quickly tearing it up at every level. It goes to show how tough it is for a professional ballplayer to make it and stick at the highest level, it's a small percentage. Major League pitching is just a different animal.
There could be that possibility he makes himself into something at the MLB level, it just seems doubtful it will be with the Cubs. Regardless, wishing the best to Mervis, and at the very least he can continue to be a force for the Iowa Cubs.
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