The Chicago Cubs made a rare Sunday trade today, swapping a former Top 100 prospect of theirs for a former Top 100 prospect of the Miami Marlins.
The deal, confirmed by Jeff Passan of ESPN is a one-for-one deal of 26-year-old one-time top prospects who have thus far failed to match major league expectations.
Matt Mervis for Vidal Brujan
Per Jeff Passan:
“The Chicago Cubs are acquiring utilityman Vidal Brujan from the Miami Marlins for first baseman Matt Mervis, sources tell ESPN. The deal is done. Both are former top 100 prospects looking to carve out at-bats in a new location.”
Who is Vidal Brujan?
Brujas began pro ball as a second basemen, but then gradually shifted to just about every position on the field, except catcher. Through parts of four seasons in the majors, as part of the Tampa Bay Rays and then the Marlins, he’s managed just a .189 average in 550 total plate appearances. His raw speed and positional flexibility, however, make the switch-hitter an attractive gamble for a Chicago Cubs team looking to add depth and versatility.
Per MLB.com 2021 scouting report:
Brujan structures his game around the plus-plus speed that helped him rack up 103 steals in his first two full-season campaigns. His quickness is as impressive as his pure speed, and they both allow him to get out of the box well and create hits from both sides of the plate.
Solid bat-to-ball skills with a knack for making line-drive contact fuel Brujan’s projection as a plus hitter, and he has long demonstrated that he can control the strike zone. He drives the ball more consistently while showing some sneaky pop from the left side of the plate — all 13 of his home runs in 2018-19 were against righties — while his right-handed stroke is geared toward putting the ball in play to utilize his wheels.
Those wheels also make Brujan a rangy defender on the infield. He profiles as a near plus defender as a second baseman and can hold his own at shortstop even though his solid arm strength is stretched thin there.
The Rays also began trying him out in the outfield during Spring Training, giving him starts in center and right field, with the idea of potentially making him an even more versatile, Ketel Marte-type up-the-middle player. He profiles better at the keystone long term and looks the part of a future top-of-the-order hitter with his blend of hitting ability, on-base skills and speed.
Who is Matt Mervis?
Matt Mervis, meanwhile, rose quickly through the ranks of Chicago’s farm system, overachieving and bucking expectations en route to top prospect status. In two brief major league stints, however, the left-handed hitting first baseman looked deeply over his head, batting just .155 with 3 home runs in 127 plate appearances.
He does have raw home run power and plays a decent first base– something which will be helpful to a Marlins system low on quality first basemen. With the young and improving Michael Busch holding the major league first base gig for the Cubs, the Matt Mervis project I Chicago became pointless.
Per MLB.com 2023 Scouting Report:
Mervis features the best combination of power and contact in the Cubs system, and he took off when he improved his bat path and his swing decisions — though he tried to do too much and struggled during his first big league callup this summer. His bat speed and the strength in his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame are obvious, but he’s more than just a masher. His relatively compact left-handed swing enables him to make consistent hard contact and he did a much better job of handling same-side pitchers in 2022 than he did in his debut.
Though he’s a well-below-average runner, Mervis moves well enough to play an adequate first base. He has a strong arm that produced low-90s fastballs with high spin rates and solid low-80s sliders when he pitched in college. He played some third base at Duke but lacks the range to play there or in left field as a pro.
All in all, the Mervis for Brujan deal is a fair swap of cast-offs who no longer had a spot within their organization.
Follow me on Twitter at @boxing_tribune, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Paul Magno via email at paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.
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