NEWSLETTER
Garrett Cooper DFA — Earlier today, Tommy Birch caught word of Matt Mervis and Hayden Wesneski making their way up to Chicago, though no one has had the corresponding moves just yet. What we do know is that Wesneski would need to come up for an injured player, because he hasn’t otherwise reached the minimum stay in the minors after being sent down. So that narrows the range of potential options quite a bit. Likewise, if Matt Mervis was coming up, we knew that it was going to be for a position player because of roster rules and pitching maximums.
Some speculated that Ian Happ (hamstring) or Chris Morel (finger) could hit the IL to make room for Mervis on the active roster. But that’s reportedly not the case. According to Jesse Rogers on ESPN 1000 Chicago just now, Garrett Cooper will be designated for assignment. So that’s very likely your corresponding move.
That means the Cubs will have seven days to trade, waive, or release Cooper, who couldn’t otherwise be optioned to Triple-A. Who knows, maybe they already have a trade lined up.
Garrett Cooper DFA’d
The Cubs signed Garrett Cooper to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp in March, and he made the team out of spring training.
Starting mainly at first base against left-handed pitching, Cooper has generally hit well enough in a tiny sample (41 PAs): .270/.341/.432 (118 wRC+), but he’s also struck out over 31% of the time, including 7Ks in his last five games. I’ve been saying all season, even though the numbers appear to be there overall, he just doesn’t look particularly comfortable or nimble at the plate.
But his performance might not be what’s really fueling this change. Instead, I think it’s three main factors:
- Michael Busch has proven more than capable offensively at first base. And he has, at a minimum, earned more starts even against left-handed pitching. That limits the opportunities for Cooper moving forward.
- Patrick Wisdom is back from the injured list and has a very similar profile to Cooper, as a right-handed power bat that can DH and play 1B against left-handed pitching, as needed.
- Alexander Canario might also factor in here, as an additional right-handed bat that can play the outfield, unlike Cooper, while Seiya Suzuki is out.
Combine those three factors and it’s not difficult to understand why Garrett Cooper would be designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs.
But stay tuned, because there are a lot of roster moves coming, and the Cubs haven’t announced any of them yet. Jesse Rogers indicated that not only are Wesneski and Mervis on the way and that Cooper was being DFA’d, but also that Luke Little might be involved as well (and he, too, could only come up for an injured pitcher, so … we’ll see).
