Matt Mervis

5 février 2025

Will get long look in camp

Mervis will be given a chance to win a starting role with the Marlins in spring training, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Analyse

Jonah Bride is penciled in as the starting first baseman headed into camp, but the 29-year-old doesn't profile as much of an offensive threat given his career .667 OPS and 12 homers over 565 big-league plate appearances. Mervis is coming off a brutal 2024 campaign that included a .235/.329/.434 in 81 games for Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs' system, but the 26-year-old was viewed as one of the top first-base prospects in baseball just one year before after slugging 22 home runs with a .282/.399/.533 line in 100 appearances for Iowa. If Mervis can regain that form, he should quickly seize a spot at the heart of a Marlins' batting order that is lacking in established power threats. Mervis and Bride could also end up platooning at first base, with Mervis on the strong side, if rookie Deyvison De Los Santos shows enough this spring to break camp as the team's starting DH.