Former Duke teammates Conine, Mervis reunite with the Marlins

[Kevin Barral]

It's tough when a traded player joins a clubhouse of strangers. Marlins first baseman Matt Mervis is grateful to be surrounded by familiar faces from his college days.

JUPITER, FL—Marlins first baseman Matt Mervis is the newest member of the Miami Blue Devils. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs this past offseason in exchange for utility man Vidal Bruján, Mervis is an alum of Duke University, just like outfielder Griffin Conine and infielder Graham Pauley. Deeper down in the Marlins organization, prospects Adam Laskey and Jay Beshears played their college ball at Duke as well.

"Having some of that familiarity when you are going into a new organization just helps ease some of the angst when you're making that transition," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "We do have a lot of players, whether they have a college experience together or they've seen each other playing in the minor leagues or have a chance to compete against each other at the major league level."

"It's been a lot of fun so far in spring training," said Mervis. "We got a rental house, Griffin and I did with the third Duke guy, Adam Laskey, who was actually my college roommate. Jay Beshears was in the trade from San Diego, came over with Pauley, so there's five of us now. It'll be good to get a couple Duke dinners down here and just hang out."

Mervis, Conine and Laskey were teammates throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons. "We won a lot," Mervis said. In 2017, the Blue Devils posted a 30-28 record, falling to Florida State in the ACC tournament championship game. Conine received Second-Team All-ACC honors while Mervis was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. The 2018 season would be much better as Duke went 45-18, reaching the NCAA Super Regional.

"I think it came out of nowhere," Conine said about his reaction to the Mervis trade. "No one was expecting that. (Mervis) had joked about it earlier, of just wanting that to be a possibility, but didn't think it would actually come true."

Conine joined the Marlins back in 2020 when there were COVID restrictions, no minor league season and no other Duke alumni.

"I was traded here and didn't have that luxury," said Conine. "I was like the first dude here. It's tough getting traded in general, whole new teammates, whole new everything. I'm happy to be able to kind of make the transition easier. Getting to know people he's already known. It's definitely made it easier for him to have so many Duke guys."

For Mervis, 26, it's been a struggle at the highest level of baseball. In 2023, he debuted for the Cubs after posting a 132 wRC+ in Triple-A, but in 27 games, he slashed .167/.242/.289/.531 with three home runs and 11 RBI. In 2024, Mervis only played in nine games for the Cubs and even his AAA numbers suffered, though that was partly due to a broken hand.

Mervis and Conine find themselves competing for Opening Day roster spots this spring. There is potentially room for both to make it as power threats against right-handed pitching, with Mervis getting most of his playing time at first base and Conine in the outfield corners.

The Marlins' first full-squad workout will be on Monday.

View full article

[rurrusuno]

I think it’s safe to say both will make the club. Mervis is a lock and Conine should impress everyone enough this spring to make it on the roster.