When Matt Mervis was deciding where to sign in 2020, his decision ultimately came down to a guess. Fortunately for him, it appears to have been the right one.
Mervis is one of the unique players who went unselected in the five-round 2020 draft. There were plenty of players who would have gotten scooped up had the draft been the traditional length, but because of the change there was a glut of talented, but undrafted, free agents.
The 25-year-old was down to two teams, the Cubs and the Yankees. At the time, the Yankees had Luke Voit at first, and under team control. Chicago had Anthony Rizzo playing first, but his contract was up after the 2021 season.
That made the Cubs a more appealing destination, he said Tuesday on 670 The Score’s “Mully & Haugh.”
“Those were my final two based on player development and left-handed power in the system," Mervis said. "But really, it came down to if everything goes well for me, if I’m in the situation that I’m in now in two years, where do I think Anthony Rizzo will be? So I looked at his age and his contract, and the Yankees roster, really it was just a guess, but I guessed right and I got lucky.”
Coincidentally, of course, is that the Yankees ended up trading for Rizzo in 2021, and he’s been in New York since. Maybe the Cubs would have taken a different approach in 2021 if Mervis wasn't in the system, but it would have been a cruel twist of fate if he chose the Yankees, only to have Rizzo end up blocking him.
Instead, he’s now getting his first taste of the majors with Chicago.
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