Mervis, 28 in April, hasn’t had much major league success yet. He has played in 78 games in the big league over the past three seasons, making 261 appearances between the Cubs and Marlins. He hit ten home runs in that time, but also had a sub-par 7.7% walk rate and an abysmal 34.5% strikeout rate. He currently has a career batting line of .165/.238/.322.
That lack of offense is killing his viability. He is one of the slowest players in the Majors and can only play first base. He has to hit to provide value.
The reason he has gotten a few Major League opportunities is because his production in the Minor League is much better than what he has done in the major leagues. He first gained attention as a minor leaguer with the Cubs in 2022. That year, he went from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 36 home runs that year.
Since then, even while struggling in the majors, he has continued to perform quite well on the farm. From 2023 to 2025, he made 1,058 appearances at the Triple-A level with various clubs. His 25.8% strikeout rate in that time is still a bit high, but much better than his big league work. He has also drawn walks at a strong 11.9% clip and hit 56 home runs. He has a combined .257/.354/.510 line and 112 wRC+ in that span, indicating he’s 12% above league average.
The Cubs traded him to the Marlins last offseason. The Fish settled him from their 40 men in June and released him in August. He was then signed to a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, but was later undrafted and became a minor league free agent at the end of the season.
The Nats are a sensible landing spot for him. Not only was he born and raised in the DC area, but the first base spot is pretty wide open in Washington. They had Nathaniel Lowe as their regular at that position this year, but released him in August. They mainly used Jos Bell the rest of the way. He became a free agent after the season and subsequently signed with the Twins.
As of now, those are Washington’s best first basemen Andres Chaparro And Luis Garcia Jr. Chaparro has a .203/.268/.358 batting line in 205 major league plate appearances. García has mostly been a second baseman in his career, but his poor defensive skills could push him to the top spot, where he has just 16 big league innings of experience. Even if he can initially hold up defensively, he probably doesn’t have the right bat for the position, with a career line of .266/.299/.410 and 93 wRC+.
With that situation, the Nats clearly need upgrades. Since they are rebuilding, they probably won’t make a big splash there. As spring training approaches, they may be able to take a cheap flyer on a free agent, depending on who isn’t signed yet. Boys like it Ty France, Rhys Hoskins, Dominic Smith, Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez or Justin Turner are some theoretical possibilities.
For now, they’ve added some non-roster depth. They signed Warming Bernabel to a minor league deal not too long ago and have now also brought Mervis into the fold. If Mervis can earn a roster spot, he will have one option season left and also less than a year of service time. If he finally clicks with his hometown team Majors, he could be retained cheaply for the foreseeable future.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
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