Mervis is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.
Following his promotion from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Mervis served as the Cubs' designated hitter in both of the ensuing two games, going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts between those contests. Though he'll retreat to the bench Thursday, the lefty-hitting Mervis will likely see the bulk of the starts at DH against right-handed pitching until the Cubs get Seiya Suzuki (oblique) back from the 10-day injured list.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Batting eighth in season debut
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Mervis was recalled from Triple-A Iowa and is batting eighth as the designated hitter Tuesday against the Astros, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The 26-year-old was called up as expected Tuesday and will immediately make his way into the starting nine. Michael Busch has earned an everyday role at first base with his hot start to the season, so Mervis is likely to see most of his playing time at designated hitter, especially while Seiya Suzuki (oblique) remains sidelined.
The Cubs are expected to recall Mervis from Triple-A Iowa prior to Tuesday's game against the Astros, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.
Hayden Wesneski is also headed back to the majors, per Birch. There's no word yet on what the corresponding moves will be, but Wesneski would have to replace an injured player since he hasn't been down 10 days yet. That could point to an injured list stint for Ian Happ (hamstring). Mervis is slashing .288/.402/.606 with five home runs and a 19:12 K:BB over his first 82 plate appearances with Iowa this season. He could see some action in the designated hitter spot for the Cubs.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Off to strong start at Triple-A
Rotowire
Through 13 games with Triple-A Iowa, Mervis is batting .333 with four home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.112 OPS.
Mervis has been locked in to start the season and looks like a player ready to return to the majors. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut last season but struggled, recording a .167/.242/.289 slash line across 27 games, to go along with a 32.3 percent strikeout rate. Mervis is limited to first base and designated hitter, and there's not much he can do at Triple-A to improve his dynasty stock, given that he's 26 years old and this is his third year at that level.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Roster bid falls short
Rotowire
The Cubs optioned Mervis to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.
Despite posting a strong slash line of .300/.432/.400 in 19 Cactus League games, Mervis fell well shy of making the season-opening 26-man roster, as he was cut with 42 players still remaining in big-league camp. After a rough showing in his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, Mervis will likely need to mash at Iowa and/or wait for an injury to hit the Cubs' first-base/designated-hitter ranks before he gets another extended opportunity in Chicago.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Decent spring so far
Rotowire
Despite going 0-for-4 in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox, Mervis is batting a solid .259 this spring with a .782 OPS.
While the numbers don't jump off the page, they're an improvement from 2023, when Mervis batted just .167 with a .531 OPS across 27 games, which marked his MLB debut. This year, the 25-year-old may have to settle for a bench role due to Michael Busch now being on the roster and expected to start at first. However, both players are fairly inexperienced at the MLB level, so Mervis could emerge if Busch struggles.
With January trade addition Michael Busch likely to play first base, per Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com, Mervis may have to settle for a bench role to begin the season.
Busch is not considered a great defender, but the team seems to want his slugging bat in the lineup, which could come at the expense of Mervis at first base. Mervis and Busch are young players with some upside, though both struggled during their respective MLB debuts last season, with strikeouts a key problem for each player. The situation at first appears to be fluid, but for now consider the outlook for Mervis to be somewhat dampened by the arrival of Busch.
The Cubs optioned Mervis to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
There was a lot of hype around Mervis when he got the call to Chicago in early May, but he'll head back to the farm after posting a brutal .167/.242/.289 batting line with three home runs and 32 strikeouts across his first 99 big-league plate appearances. Cody Bellinger (knee) has been activated off the injured list in a corresponding roster move and is expected to factor in at first base moving forward.
Mervis went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Giants.
Mervis was in quite the rough patch over his last nine games, going just 1-for-26 with a 3:11 BB:K. He at least put an end to his power drought with a third-inning solo shot off Jakob Junis that ended up being all the offense the Cubs needed. Mervis has three homers over his first 24 big-league games, but he's struggled to a .173/.247/.309 slash line with 10 RBI and eight runs scored through 89 plate appearances. He is likely to remain in a strong-side platoon role while learning on the job against major-league pitching. Trey Mancini figures to play first base against most lefties.
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Cubs' Matt Mervis: Out against lefty
Rotowire
Mervis isn't in the Cubs' lineup Thursday against the Angels.
With the left-handed Reid Detmers set to start the game on the mound for Los Angeles, Mervis will retreat to the dugout. Trey Mancini will fill in at first base and bat seventh.
