Cubs Rumors: Matt Mervis Called Up, Hyped Prospect Expected to Debut vs. Marlins

The Chicago Cubs will reportedly receive some much-needed offensive support for their weekend series against the Miami Marlins that starts Friday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the NL Central team will call up first baseman Matt Mervis from Triple-A Iowa. The plan is for him to join the team starting Friday, which will be the first of six straight home games.

Cubs fans have been clamoring for Mervis to receive the call-up of late, and for good reason.

First base has been a relative weakness in the early going this season, as Eric Hosmer has a wins above replacement of -0.2 through 26 games, per Baseball Reference. Trey Mancini has been even worse with a WAR of -0.6, and the two of them have been the primary first basemen for the team.

It is a far cry from when Anthony Rizzo was a dominant force in the middle of the lineup for the Cubs teams that went to three straight National League Championship Series from 2015-17 and won the 2016 World Series.

Because of those positional struggles for a team that entered Thursday's game against the Washington Nationals mired in a 1-5 stretch, Mervis may be seen as something of a savior with unrealistic expectations.

Yet he has done nothing but hit this season at the Triple-A level with a .286/.402/.560 slash line, six home runs and 27 RBI in 24 games.

If nothing else, this will give him the chance to compete against major league pitching and adjust to the highest level before Chicago could make a jump into contender status in 2024. He is the sixth-ranked prospect, per MLB.com, in a solid farm system that features a number of players who could contribute for the Cubs as soon as next season.

Between the opportunity for Mervis to get some experience, the high upside he brings compared to Hosmer and Mancini, and Chicago's need for a spark given its recent struggles, this is a move that should have already been made at this point of the season.

But it is better late than never, and Cubs fans will get the chance to see one of the team's highly regarded prospects starting Friday.