The Cubs have traded one former infield prospect for another.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on his X feed early Sunday afternoon that the Cubs have dealt first baseman Matt Mervis to the Miami Marlins for utilityman Vidal Bruján, according to sources.
“Both are former top 100 prospects looking to carve out at-bats in a new location,” Passan wrote.
Mervis was selected in the 39th round of the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft by the Washington Nationals, but he did not sign, opting instead to play college ball at Duke. The Cubs then signed him as a free agent in June 2020.
Mervis had a rapid ascent in the Cubs’ minor-league system, rising all the way up to Triple-A Iowa by the end of 2021. In three levels combined, including Triple-A, during the 2022 season, Mervis belted 36 homers, drove in 119 runs and posted a robust .984 OPS.
Mervis made his big-league debut with the Cubs in 2023, hitting three homers, driving in 11 runs and totaling 15 hits. In January 2024, Mervis was ranked No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s first base prospect rankings.
But Mervis, 26, was unable to find big-league success in 2024, making just 28 plate appearances in nine games with the Cubs. He did post a respectable .762 OPS with 15 homers in Triple-A, but with the emergence of Michael Busch at the corner infield positions and other prospects coming up in the system, there probably wasn’t a spot anymore for Mervis with the Cubs.
The 26-year-old Bruján, meanwhile, joins the organization after being designated for assignment by the Marlins earlier this month.
Bruján was signed as an international free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014 and was ranked No. 3 in 2021 in MLB Pipeline’s second base prospect rankings. He was traded to the Marlins in November 2023.
Bruján has a .531 OPS with five homers, 40 RBI and 14 stolen bases over parts of four big-league seasons with the Rays and Marlins.