Should Chicago Cubs Continue to Roster Hosmer Over Top Prospects?

It's the battle of the prospects and Eric Hosmer with the Chicago Cubs. The question remains: does Eric Hosmer deserve to stay?

Regina Ham | May 17, 2023

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It's the worst-kept secret on the Chicago Cubs: first baseman/designated hitter Eric Hosmer is not good.

More specifically, he's not good with runners in scoring positions and has not come through.

After signing the 33-year-old to a one-year deal back in January, he's under-delivered for the Cubs. At 94 at-bats this season, he's slugging .234/.280/.330 with two homers and 14 RBIs. Hosmer also has a very uninspiring OPS of .610.

Chicago isn't really trusting him at first base all that much, ending up more often than not as the DH. He is sluggish and many wonder why he's taking up room when there are much better options.

Those options have two names: Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel.

Mervis, first and foremost, already has half the home runs that Hosmer does in a Cubs uniform. Ther 25-year-old first baseman crushed his first MLB homer in the second inning of Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Houston Astros. It clanked off the right-field foul pole. He went 2-4 on the night in addition to his homer.

Not a bad start.

It was a slow start to his major-league career. In 34 plate appearances before Tuesday, Mervis had a .515 OPS with 1 extra-base hit and a 41.2% strikeout rate. He's slugging .250/.289/.361 in nine games played.

He's become more confident as a hitter since he was called up on May 9th. The ability to pounce on fastballs in the zone and spit on off-speeds intended for him to chase is gonna be where he shines.

Morel also came up from Triple-A Iowa on May 9th. He also took a bit longer on the yellow brick road to the MLB. But the 23-year-old super utility player took his superb minor league career to the first six games in a Cubs uniform.

He's slugging .333/.333/.800 with four homers and nine RBIs over seven games. All four homers have been over 400 feet. Morel's had a hit in each of his seven games and three multi-hit games.

Just say he's the Morel support of the team.

With both rookies doing well in their MLB debuts, the Cubs don't need to carry Hosmer on the 40-man active. Especially if he's performing at the same low level for the next months of 2023.

Sometimes you have to let the youths shine.

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Published May 17, 2023

REGINA HAM

Regina Ham is an editor and writer for Inside the Cubs. As an alumna of the University of Maryland-College Park, she studied both broadcast and multimedia journalism. A six-year veteran of the sports industry, she's worked in radio, television, and online media. You can follow her on Twitter @regina_ham or Instagram @reginamariesports. Upon her undergraduate education, Regina went to work in 2016 for Sirius XM-Satellite Radio on College Sports Nation/ESPNU for two years. During her time in school, Regina interned at a variety of Washington, D.C.-area media organizations, including NBC Sports Washington and WTOP. There she assisted in coverage of local MLB and NHL teams. She also interned down at WAAY 31 in Huntsville, AL and worked on stories regarding the local Minor League Baseball affiliate and SEC football. Regina worked in international sports television for almost four years, covering sports from MLS to the KHL and the KBO. She joined Philly Sports Network in 2022 and covers both the Phillies and Philadelphia Flyers before joining the Sports Illustrated network in 2023. You can follow her on Twitter @Regina_ham or on Instagram @reginamariesports. If you have any questions or comments, she can be reached at regina.ham28@gmail.com.