Matt Mervis is Coming Back up to the Cubs...Just Not Yet

Well, you don't have to wait around to see if anyone is posting a picture of Matt Mervis arriving at Wrigley Field, at least not for the next couple weeks. According to the latest report, the Cubs aren't quite ready to bring up the 25-year-old rookie for his second chance in the majors.

Sahadev Sharma wrote about the current thought process of the Cubs and it's not exactly that they're waiting to fully be out of playoff contention, but also, that is kind of one of the reasons? According to Sharma, the Cubs still want the 25-year-old to work on the skills that first earned him a big-league promotion back in May.

Via The Athletic.

But a source with the Cubs indicated there was a reason Mervis was still in the minors.

The Cubs are trying to win games right now and Mervis is working on very specific but small mechanical adjustments with Iowa hitting coach John Mallee. He’s also focusing on getting back to making the type of swing decisions that helped him get to the big leagues in the first place. To work on these specific details of his game, Mervis has to play every day. The Cubs prefer that not happen with the pressure of trying to perform and stick in the big leagues.

Following Tuesday night's 17-3 drubbing of the Washington Nationals, the Cubs gained one game in the standings, but they still trail the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 7.5 games in the National League Central.

I mean, I get some fans expected a lot from Mervis when he came up, especially when you looked at his numbers in 2022 and how he kept putting up great numbers at Triple-A to begin the 2023 season, but the way some people talk about him now seems extreme. A bust? Already?

And yeah, Mervis looked horrible when he was up, striking out 32% of the time, but the Cubs only gave the guy 99 plate appearances. Sure, the Cubs could call Mervis up tonight and maybe it turns out that he just isn't an MLB-caliber player after all, but I'd rather the team find that out sooner rather than later, instead of having to watch Trey Mancini and Jared Young.

Really, that's the big issue I have here. Again, Mervis was bad, he had a .531 OPS, but it's not like Mancini is doing anything of substance on offense. So far in July, Mancini has posted a .540 OPS, with all 7 of his hits being singles. Mancini has hit one home run since April.

There's just no way the Cubs can be serious about wanting to stay in the division race and continuing to start Mancini.

The same goes with giving Jared Young more at-bats. He deservedly got the call up to the majors after crushing Triple-A pitching in June. The Cubs desperately needed anyone to hit against right-handed pitching and at first Young did provide a spark, going 4-for-9, with a home run, two triples and four RBI. Since then Young is 2-for-26, with nine strikeouts.

Maybe it is too simple and Mervis isn't a no-doubt, star prospect, but the alternatives on the MLB roster aren't giving anyone much confidence right now anyway. Maybe Mervis isn’t good, but find out. Just like with Eric Hosmer, what’s the point with playing Mancini. As for Young, give someone else a chance with his spot. Why not bring up Edwin Ríos back and have him as the left-handed power bat on the bench.

I guess if the Cubs continue to spiral in the next two weeks, Mervis will be up and then he'll get his shot again.

Since he went back to Triple-A in June, Mervis has slashed .313/.452/.537, with a 153 wRC+. Just not sure he's learning much more in the minors that he couldn't in the majors.