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Cubs Designate Ben Cowles For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | September 1, 2025 at 12:35pm CDT

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

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Ben Cowles Carlos Santana

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View Comments (21)
Post a Comment

21 Comments

  1. Ray Epps

    2 months ago

    Never heard of Ben Cowles.

    4
    Reply
    • nice pickup

      2 months ago

      Have you heard of Batman’s cowl?

      1
      Reply
  2. naldythompson

    2 months ago

    Should mean Turner is safe

    Reply
    • Steelers 6x

      2 months ago

      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.

      1
      Reply
      • Chicago Expat

        2 months ago

        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.

        Reply
    • Citizen1

      2 months ago

      If he hits 2b he would be

      Reply
  3. harrycarey

    2 months ago

    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

    Reply
    • Sheep8

      2 months ago

      And you know from inside sources Hoyer had the choice between the 2?

      Reply
  4. Alan53

    2 months ago

    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.

    2
    Reply
    • Awesom-O

      2 months ago

      It’s fine being a leader when also contributing. But, there are like a dozen coaches in the dugout to rah rah guys. A roster spot doesn’t need to be spent on another one.

      2
      Reply
  5. The Gambler

    2 months ago

    Hoyer got smoked again

    Reply
    • Mr.TomRicketts

      2 months ago

      Mark Leiter Jr has put up a -0.3 WAR since joining the Yankees. The trade is a wash.

      5
      Reply
      • Unclemike1526

        2 months ago

        Then you are using him wrong because if he is used properly he is very effective. See below.

        Reply
  6. Alan53

    2 months ago

    In addition to all the other ways he has disappointed this season–Tucker is really a bad outfielder, isn’t he? He supposedly was good in Houston, but I think the sun and wind in Wrigley Field are too much for him.

    2
    Reply
  7. Alan53

    2 months ago

    If the Reds beat out the Cubs for the last wild-card spot, I’ll never forget that the Jays’ manager, Schneider, thought real hard and decided to send Tommy Nance out to try to get the save in Cincinatti today.

    Reply
  8. Alan53

    2 months ago

    That Taylor Rogers was a great pick-up, wasn’t he? Way to go, Jed.

    Reply
  9. Alan53

    2 months ago

    It is simply unbelievable how Tucker fails to get even the “easy” rbi’s. There is something about his game that just doesn’t drive in runs.

    We have had players like this before. But no one thought we should sign them for 10 years at 400 or 500 million.

    Reply
  10. The Gambler

    2 months ago

    Nobody should ever get a long term deal in their late 20’s

    1
    Reply
    • Steelers 6x

      2 months ago

      Yet another fun day for Alan. He gets to cherry pick Kyle Tucker and cherry pick Taylor Rogers and rip Jed Hoyer and completely gloss over those acquisitions of Kittredge, Keller, and Oops Civale and Kelly.

      Every day I look for the August 25th newspaper that he has been touting with the Cubs 15 behind the Brewers and about a day from falling out of the playoffs to the happiness of the Reds.

      Its amazing how right he can about two random handpicked topics of the day and so wrong about absolutely everything else.

      As I logged on today he must be getting muted more and more….almost the entire thread is him responding to himself.

      —and then I’m guessing he stopped responding to himself probably at the same time the Cubs game ended.

      Always a good day when a miserable person is made more miserable by something his has zero control over.

      3
      Reply
      • rondon

        1 month ago

        Seeing his 4 consecutive comments above, I think he may be having his stroke in installments.

        1
        Reply
  11. Unclemike1526

    2 months ago

    Cowles is no big loss as he has about 10 guys in front of him in the organization and wasn’t very good. No idea how Callis and friends even rate him in the Cubs top 30. I wish we had Leiter Jr. back because if you use him properly he is an effective reliever. His splitter is better against Lefties and if you rest him properly he’s fine. If you try to use him 3 days in a row he will fail.

    Reply

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