The Cubs announced that infielder Ben Cowles has been designated for assignment. That opens a 40-man spot for the signing of first baseman Carlos Santana, a move that was previously reported. Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM was among those to relay the news.
Cowles, 25, was acquired from the Yankees in last summer’s deadline deal which sent Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx. The Cubs then added him to their 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Unfortunately, he’s not having a great year in Triple-A. His 7.1% walk rate and 28.6% strikeout rate are both subpar figures. His .238/.304/.382 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 74, despite a strong .325 batting average on balls in play. He does have 16 stolen bases but has also been caught six times.
That performance has nudged him off the 40-man roster. With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll have to be placed on waivers in the coming days. It’s possible a club is interested based on his past performance. From 2021 to 2024, he slashed .268/.365/.426 across various minor league levels for a 124 wRC+. He regularly posts double-digit steal totals and can bounce around between shortstop, second base and third base.
Though his 2025 season isn’t going well, the overall track record is better and he has a full slate of options. Perhaps that will inspire some club with an open roster spot to put in a claim and stash him in the minors as a depth piece.
Photo courtesy of Cody Scanlan, Imagn Images
Never heard of Ben Cowles.
Have you heard of Batman’s cowl?
Should mean Turner is safe
Think you are right baldy. One month to decide which of Turner or Santana is the playoffs roster guy.
And I guess now gives the ability to start one against lefties, use Busch in mid game if righty comes in and nod get pinned against late lefty or closer.
I am very happy with Busch, and also glad that Counsell is starting to let Busch face LHP now and again, but it is a serious detriment to this team that having multiple options to sub at 1B factors prominently into roster decisions for late-inning scenarios exactly like the one you mentioned.
I would imagine that LHP will be the sole focus of Busch’s off-season. He’ll show up at spring training next year and have totally forgotten there is such a thing as RHP.
Maybe the biggest mistake Hoyer has made was having Cowles in the trade last summer instead of Calib Durbin. Sure would have been interesting as one looks back on the past 2 summers of both players
And you know from inside sources Hoyer had the choice between the 2?
They got Cowles from the Yankees in the trade that sent Leiter Jr. there last year. Was never a real prospect.
May I say, with all due respect, or maybe even more than due respect, because I respect everyone who comments here–that if you thought Turner was going to be released to make room for Santana, you don’t really get the Cubs. Hoyer was never going to release Turner. Hoyer values “lesdership” and other similar intangibles above all else, and he thinks Turner has that. As someone commented the other day, Turner is Shaw and PCA’s “spirit animal.” (LOL). Turner is here for the duration–for the last 4 weeks of a season in which the Cubs’ hold on a wild-card spot SEEMS safe, but might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll see.