The Cubs are going to designate first baseman Garrett Cooper for assignment, per Robert Murray of FanSided. It appears he will be the corresponding move for Matt Mervis, as Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports that Mervis is being called up.
The transaction comes as a surprise, since Cooper has generally been playing well. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and made the Opening Day roster. Since then, he’s hit .270/.341/.432 for a wRC+ of 118.
Despite that strong surface-level production, there are also some concerning elements under the hood. Cooper has struck out at a 31.7% clip so far this year, a few ticks above his career rate, which was already a bit above average. He also has an unsustainable .391 batting average on balls in play, well above the .290 league average.
Beyond Cooper’s performance, it seems that Mervis may have just forced the club into making a move. He had huge amounts of helium in 2022, despite landing with the Cubs as an undrafted free agent. The pandemic led to the 2020 draft being shortened to just five rounds and Mervis wasn’t selected, leading to him signing with the Cubs afterwards.
Despite being somewhat overlooked at that time, he shot onto everyone’s radar in 2022, going from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .309/.379/.605 that year. That led to his first taste of the majors last season, though he hit just .167/.242/.289 in his first 99 big league plate appearances. He still hit well in Triple-A last year and is off to a strong start here in 2024. He has five home runs in 82 plate appearances this year and is drawing walks at a 14.6% clip, leading to a line of .288/.402/.606 and a 151 wRC+.
Perhaps the club couldn’t ignore that performance any longer, but handedness may have also played a role. The Cubs as a team are hitting .284/.361/.506 against lefties for a 140 wRC+, second only to the Guardians. But against righties, their collective batting line is .236/.317/.381, which leads to a 97 wRC+ that’s 17th in the league.
Cooper hits from the right side and has been better against lefties in his career, but only modestly. He’s hit .285/.337/.475 against southpaws and .263/.337/.420 otherwise, leading to respective wRC+ counts of 119 and 108. Swapping in Mervis could perhaps give them a bump against right-handed pitchers since he hits from the left side.
The Cubs could have perhaps bumped someone else off the roster in favor of Mervis, such as Patrick Wisdom or Nick Madrigal, but those two offer a bit more defensively. Cooper is only really viable at first base, since his brief time in the outfield corners has yielded poor results. Madrigal and Wisdom can each play third while the latter has some outfield ability as well.
There will now be a week for the Cubs to line up a trade for Cooper or pass him through waivers. It seems fair to expect that there will be interest, based both on his performance so far this year and his track record. He hit .274/.350/.444 for the Marlins from 2019 to 2022, leading to a wRC+ of 117 in that stretch. He struggled to stay healthy in that time and then slumped last year, but he seems to be in good form so far this season.
The Red Sox are going to be without their primary first baseman for a while, as Triston Casas has been diagnosed with a fractured rib. The Astros are getting dismal production from José Abreu thus far. The same goes for the White Sox and Andrew Vaughn, the Twins and Carlos Santana and others. Given all of those different situations, the Cubs will likely be fielding calls about Cooper in the coming days.
Padres reunion?
Hope so.
Wouldn’t be the worst move the Pads could make as the offense needs help. But they just picked up Donovan Solano (who bats R) and if they’re planning to add another bat, likely to be a L. But then that would block Pauley. Probably not in the cards for a Pads reunion.
Good point
I had him on my early list to resign but I wouldn’t trade anything of any value for him. I’d give up a warm body or “cash considerations” and I’d sign him to league minimum but that is all.
Padres only 1/2 game back of Dodgers at this point in the season. – how bout that Tow!
Don’t think any of us would have thought that!
Exactly. I’m thinking PTBNL. I’d like so see him come in and get the majority of 1B/DH AB’s against lefties. Crone can start against righties, and move around the IF when guys need a rest. There are plenty of AB’s to go around
An opportunity for the Astros if they decide they’ve had enough of Abreu or Singleton
Cooper would be an automatic upgrade over both, but since the Astros won’t cut Abreu yet because of money owed, they need to cut Singleton immediately and sign Cooper.
Cooper and/or Belt are options. I don’t see them giving up on Abreu just yet.
774 OPS. Seems odd.
Cooper was growing on me too. Now the only RH 1B the cubs have is Patrick Wisdom 😐
I am not a fan of Wisdom, would rather keep Cooper even if his numbers aren’t sustainable. Wisdom is only good for a 40% strikeout rate these days…
Cooper struck out 31%, and Wisdom can hit homers while playing 1B or 3B.
wisdom sucks defensively, plus even his homers don’t make up for it…hes not good
Someone beat me to it, Astros need to sign Cooper and designate Singleton. Abreu being cut would be next.
Still productive. An interesting DFA. They’ll certainly find a trade market.
I’m guessing this is a vote of confidence for Canario.
With Suzuki on the IL and Happ on the sidelines, they need to keep Canario for the OF.
Except Happ isn’t on the sidelines anymore.
I mean..He was available to every team in the offseason, and didn’t sign till late. If by trade market, you mean you’d be expecting more than an A ball prospect, or a PTBNL, then I find that doubtful.
Good OBP. Hard to imagine he won’t get claimed. Odd decision by the Cubs.
Not really. Cooper’s role (1B against lefties, occasional corner OF or DH, bench bat) is one that can be covered well enough by Wisdom/Canario. And while his results have been fine, Cooper hasn’t looked great at the plate by the eye test lately.
They are also bringing up Mervis hoping for a boost to the offense and you can’t carry four guys whose primary position is 1B.
Except Wisdom is terrible. Just seems to be an odd move as an outsider, but it’s not like he’s mashing either.
Cooper is better than Wisdom
Should’ve cut Whiffdom.
What’s Carrett Gooper doing in the Impact Zone?!?!
I agree!
Mervis getting called up again, perhaps? I liked Cooper, so this better be why.
That’s literally what’s happening. Nervis up, Cooper out
They have Bellinger, but he’s a lefty too.
Wisdom is not terrible, Just awful.
Us Wisdom truthers will always have that magical first half of 2021
That magical first half of 2021 is looking rather distant these days, especially with how awful Wisdom has been now.
Hasn’t he just been in like 2 games this season?
Cooper was an upgrade over Wisdom. This is just bad roster management, But not completely unexpected. Wisdom is Hoyers illegitimate son. Maybe?
Not a huge Wisdom fan but he is serviceable at 1B, 3B and OF as well as DH.
As a RS fan, I’d be interested in acquiring Wisdom, depending on how long Casas is out for.
Some stale hot dog buns and warm six pack of Old Milwaukee Beer gets it done for me.
Leave your love life out of this
It’s Old Styles not Milwaukee…
No San Diego you’re wrong. There was a beer called Old Milwaukee which eventually became Milwaukees Best and then Red, White and Blue I believe. Then after they killed like 5 homeless guys I think they stopped making it. And it’s Old Style and Hamms were the beers of my youth. I remember thinking the definition of desperation was when I saw a guy come in and buy a 6 pack of Milwaukees Best and paid with a check. It was less than 2 bucks. I found out later from the clerk at the liquor store it bounced.
His 40%K rate will change your mind.
I think we can all agree that while much of the world is going the hell, beer selection and quality (especially microbrewed) has never been better than it is today. Cheers
Thanks for the nugget of knowledge! Imma gonna be the real smarta$$ Padres fan correcting Cubbie fans!
I loved the story! Bounced a $2 check for some Beast.
Wisdom should absolutely not be in the OF fir any reason. I’d rather see Travis Wood out in LF over Wisdom.
Wisdom generates a lot of wind speed at the plate
He could bring a breeze into Tropicana Field. Lol. Or Wrigley North or any stadium with a retractable roof.
Think better
Mervis in the service
These rhymes unnerve us.
Wisdom should be gone!
Cooper had more value, so I am puzzled!
Power numbers
No, Wisdom really has no value at all now.
This is a team that wants to win the division and Cooper offers a lot more than Wisdom.
Busch handles 1b, Mervis does the backup there.
Wisdom can pinch hit and play various positions unlike Cooper. That was likely the thought process
This is why Counsel will never win anything. He gets it in his head that he doesn’t like someone. He won’t give a player a fair shot. Got rid of Cooper when he was a Brewer too.
GIVE THIS MID-30s VET A FAIR SHOT!
That’s Benedict Counsell at his best! Enjoy the high priced mismanagement Cub fans, it’s going to be a long season.
Except for the fact that the Cubs are winning and they haven’t even really been playing well yet. Their overall defense has been less than stellar and their starting pitching has been horrible at best. Is Verdad? So get ready to see improvement and now that 2 of the weak pitching links are gone it will probably be sooner than later.
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid. Let me know if you are still a CC believer after his time ends in Chicago with zero titles to show for it.
Mets should get rid of Short and make room for Cooper, we have no true DH right now. DJ Stewart just isn’t cutting it but I’d like to keep him as a bat off the bench until Martinez is called up
The best part of this move is that it is an indicator that Mervis coming up (been online for the last 5 hours) is that it is probably NOT Happ going to the IL.
Now, the mystery of Wesneski being recalled remains out there. He can only be recalled due to injury so it is really Hendricks or is there a hidden injury to someone (Alzolay, Neris, Brewer, etc) that we don’t know about.
Red Sox to cover for Casas?
Cooper vs Wisdom
Wisdom can play more positions, has more pure power, but comes with low average and high K rate
Cooper plays 1b only and spotty OF, but can be counted on more to get bat on ball, but lacks power.
Cubs had too many 1Bs and should look to move Wisdom as well,
Except Wisdom plays four positions, not just first base.
I thought Cooper was doing fine – but I understand what they’re thinking. Cooper could be hitting cleanup for the Chisox. I hope they can get a nice lottery ticket for him.
I’m so glad Mervis is getting another shot. If Morel continues to struggle offensively, Mervis bat could potentially pay dividends. I’m anxious to see how this plays out.
note I said:
Cooper vs Wisdom
Wisdom can play more positions…which states more than 1 (more than cooper which was meant here)
The 1b comment at the end was about Cooper
If you properly structured your sentence, you could have avoided your entire response.
seriously? I referenced cooper as a 1b not wisdom therefore referencing that last sentence to 1b was an obvious reference to cooper since I mentioned only him being a 1b.
Matt Mervis to replace Cooper on roster, Wisdom you next.
Ultimately it boils down to Cooper not having a future for the Cubs where Mervis potentially does. Whether or not Cooper is a better hitter than Wisdom is irrelevant, Cooper cannot play the positions Wisdom can.
When the time comes for the Cubs to take a look at Vazquez, then Madrigal and Wisdom need to worry. Vazquez is a guy who can truly play the super utility role and I’m a little surprised he isn’t bouncing around the diamond in AAA right now.
More importantly Dras, the important time is when Matt Shaw solves the third base issue, making all of Madrigal, Wisdom and Morel irrelevant. Probably not quite quick enough, but I’m hoping.
You’re not wrong and Shaw has only played third base in AA. I could easily see him making the jump straight form the Smokies to Chicago if we don’t get more production out of third base.
I was just looking at role for role swaps, Vazquez can fill the Wisdom and/or Madrigal role as a guy who can play multiple positions and a guy who I think mostly projects as a utility/bench player. Madrigal, IMO, should always have a role as a bench player due to his contact skills.
I fully understand that Shaw is a good calendar year away and agree with you about Vazquez.
I just hope the hole at third base is addressed because I think this team can contend deep into the season.
And nice to see Busch bat ahead of Morel tonight.
And to see Hoerner at the top with Happ hitting second (and in the lineup)
Ans Swanson dropped down in the order. He’s been lost at the plate.
Only thing is, Shaw doesn’t have the arm to play 3rd. Yes, I know he was a shortstop. But scouts told me he had a fringy arm & would need to move to 2nd base. But due to Hoerner & Swanson, where else is he going to play? I do believe in the kid’s bat, though. He can really hit!
This doesn’t make much sense. It basically creates a “platoon” of first basemen who both bat from the left side. Not only that, but Cooper had been playing well, and he is a veteran. You’d think a vet would be preferred over someone with such a small amount of experience on a contending team..
Future Red Sox 1B
Come on A’s! Surprise us all and sign this obvious fit
I knew at some point a team that signed Carlos Santana to be their starting 1B would roll snake eyes, and it would appear that’s MIL. Things not looking so bleak these days for Brandon Belt, but buyer beware there as he’s got bad knees and is not an everyday option at this point.
You mean MIN.
MIL passed on Santana after renting him at the back end of last year. He was OK, and certainly better than Rowdy,but a good decision to move on.
Before anyone dumps on the Cubs for this move, you may want to wait to see how long before Cooper goes on the IL with his next team. The Cubs may know something.
I for one hope that the Marlins do not give Cooper a call once he passes through waivers. I kind of knew that his career would end soon after the Marlins brass stopped being the organzation that gave this guy job security for so many years.