At the beginning of this week, the Chicago Cubs made a series of moves that shook up their roster. As Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly were added to the injured list, relievers Luke Little and Hayden Wesneski were called up from AAA Iowa and added to the roster. Additionally, the Cubs designated utility player Garrett Cooper for assignment while calling up Matt Mervis to Chicago.
Cooper appeared in twelve games for the Cubs before being DFA’d. In 37 at-bats, he had a .270 batting average with three extra-base hits, including one home run. Cooper provided backup for Michael Busch at first base and also could play the outfield. His spot on the roster was similar to that of Patrick Wisdom, who made his way off the injured list just last week.
The Cubs have limited time left to find a new home for Cooper via trade. If they cannot find a partner, he will go through the waiver process and potentially become a free agent.
Chicago was one of two teams that expressed interest in Cooper during his free agency. Ironically enough, the Cubs were battling with the Boston Red Sox for Cooper’s services, which they will face this weekend at Fenway Park. While the players are playing on the field, might the executives meet in the suites above?
Cubs, Red Sox May Be Trade-Talking During Weekend Series
Theo Epstein, who helped orchestrate the end to the 108-year drought on the North Side of Chicago, is now part of the Red Sox’s ownership group. He obviously has a great relationship with Jed Hoyer and the Cubs’ front office. And Hoyer and the boys know the Red Sox had a legitimate interest in Garrett Cooper before the season began.
Cooper put up nice numbers for the Cubs. The Cubs just have exceptional belief in what they already had in-house to contribute to the team moving forward. Patrick Wisdom slugs against left-handed pitching, and Matt Mervis has come a long way as a left-handed option.
It’s also worth mentioning that as hurt as the Cubs have seemed this season, the Red Sox have arguably had twice as bad luck with their own injuries. The depth would be a welcomed addition to their roster. The Red Sox are still hanging onto a winning record at this point, but it will be wearing thin with more matchups against their division on the horizon. It’d be unrealistic to believe what they have now can carry them through that challenge.
Kenly Jansen is also mentioned here as a potential piece the Red Sox may be preparing to move on from, should things go array (as many expect). Jon Heyman thinks the Dodgers make sense, but don’t the Cubs, too? Talk about a unit that needs some bullpen help. I don’t know if this is the weekend they’d move on from Jensen. However, if things go smoothly in talks of a Cooper deal, maybe down the road, they can play friendly one more time to bring Jensen to Chicago.
