Chicago Cubs rumors: 3 players who won’t be on the roster by June 1
By Mark Powell
Cubs Rumors: Julian Merryweather just isn’t working out
Chicago claimed Julian Merryweather for the bullpen depth from the Toronto Blue Jays last season. This year, however, he’s holding a roster spot for someone else who deserves it.
With Brad Boxberger on the 15-day injured list, as well as Kyle Hendricks, expect Merryweather to be optioned down to the minor leagues once one of the two regulars returns. Hendricks, in particular, is a critical part of Chicago’s rotation. In this scenario, Hayden Wesneski could be moved to the bullpen to take Merryweather’s slot, if necessary.
So far this season, Merryweather has a 5.74 ERA in 16 appearances with Chicago. That’s not good enough to demand a spot in the Cubs bullpen, especially given their recent struggles.
In fact, the last few seasons haven’t made Merryweather look like a capable big-league player. He did develop a nice slider in spring training, which helped him make the roster, but so far that hasn’t tracked. He looks far more like his 2022 self, which forced the Jays to designate him for assignment. As MLB Trade Rumors wrote at the time, “Merryweather struck out 27.3% of batters faced in 2020 but saw that number drop to 21.8% and 19.3% in the past two seasons. That coincided with an increase in his ERA, going from 4.15 to 4.85 and 6.75 in the most recent season. In addition to those struggles, health is an ongoing concern. Though he pitched over 40 innings in 2022, the previous four years each saw him fall short of 20 frames.”
Mayweather’s strikeout rate has been much better in the minor leagues, but big-league players don’t struggle as much to hit high-velocity fastballs. That’s much of what Mayweather throws, and suggests he needs to develop more in his arsenal.