Snap judgments in Major League Baseball are often unwise. But it’s just so tempting to make them.
The Chicago Cubs made a seemingly small trade this offseason that now looks as though it may have been ill-fated. The season is barely an eighth of the way over, but one baseball writer is already prepared to call that trade a failure.
On Dec. 29, the Cubs sent first baseman Matt Mervis, a former top prospect who was blocked at his position by fellow youngster Michael Busch, to the Miami Marlins in exchange for another ex-top farmhand, utility infielder Vidal Brujan.
It seemed like a reasonable deal to give two young players fresh starts after their previous struggles to find regular playing time. But after Mervis has come out of the gates swinging, one baseball writer is taking aim at Chicago’s front office.
On Thursday, Yardbarker’s Jacob Mountz criticized the Brujan-Mervis trade, calling it “very bad” based on the 27-year-old Mervis’ hot start to the season in a Marlins uniform combined with Bruján’s minimal contributions.
“(Bruján) could still be the star talent he was once projected to grow into, but the Cubs took a sizable risk in trading for him,” Mountz wrote. “This season, he is out of minor league options. If at any point he should be removed from the roster… he would need to be designated for assignment.
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“Mervis, on the other hand, has seen semi-regular action with the Marlins. In 56 at-bats, Mervis is slashing .232/.323/.589 with six home runs. Already, we are catching a glimpse of Mervis’ power potential starting to play in the major leagues.”
Fortunately for the Cubs, Busch has been even better than Mervis so far over a larger sample size (.974 OPS in 96 plate appearances through Wednesday). The issue, of course, is that Bruján has just four plate appearances all season thanks to an elbow injury.
It’s entirely possible that opposing pitchers will adjust to Mervis and ease the Cubs’ pain over losing a quality hitter. But if Mervis goes on to have a long, productive career, Chicago will wonder what might have been.
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