Matt Mervis was named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year following a breakout 2022 campaign that saw him slash .309/.379/.606 with 36 homers and 40 doubles across three levels. Though he wasn’t quite as hot last season at Triple-A Iowa, he did well enough to earn a promotion to Chicago. Disappointing as the stats may have been on paper, Mervis hit the ball hard and showed signs of figuring things out prior to being sent back down.
The Cubs just didn’t feel like they were in a position to prioritize development over winning, especially not after allowing Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini to rack up a combined 363 plate appearances before ending those experiments.