The Chicago Cubs have signed free agent Garrett Cooper to a minor league deal and fans are already speculating what it could mean for a few guys on the roster moving forward including Patrick Wisdom.
Cooper, 33, played for the Miami Marlins and the San Diego Padres in 2023. The 6-foot-5 first baseman was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Auburn in 2013, but made his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2017. Cooper was traded to the Marlins before the 2018 season.
Craig Mish, who covers the Marlin, broke the news on Sunday night.
Cooper, despite his size, has not been the stereotypical masher at first base, but the right-handed hitter has managed to establish himself as a solid hitter since the start of the 2019 season. From 2019-22, Cooper put up a slash line of .274/.350/.444, with a 117 wRC+.
Last year, Cooper was dealt to the Padres at the trade deadline and finished the season with a combined slash line of .251/.304/.419. It was his first below average season as a hitter in the majors since 2018, when he only played 14 games. However, Cooper was able to tap into his power, setting a new career high with 17 home runs in 457 plate appearances.
Again, Cooper may not be the power bat that you’d prefer as a DH/1B platoon partner, but what makes him so valuable on the Cubs could be his ability to hit left-handed pitching. Although Cooper had a subpar 2023, he feasted on lefties to the tune of a .324/.375/.529 slash line, hitting five homers in 112 plate appearances.
That wasn’t a one-year thing either, as Cooper has hit lefties throughout his career, posting a 120 wRC+ with a slash line of .286/.338/.478, in nearly 500 plate appearances against left-handed pitching.
Meanwhile, Wisdom definitely has power in his bat that has kept him as a regular to semi-regular in the Cubs lineup since the middle of the 2021 season. Wisdom hit 23 home runs in only 302 plate appearances last season, recording a 109 wRC+ in 97 games. There’s value there for sure, but the Cubs have made it clear that they want to give Michael Busch most if not all the starts at first base against righties, while Christopher Morel has been given the opportunity to win or at least become an actual option to start at third base to begin the season.
This has pretty much reduced Wisdom as a platoon option, but he really wasn’t a lefty masher in 2023. Wisdom is never going to hit for average, so he has to slug and slug a lot to provide value. Last year, Wisdom had 130 plate appearances against lefties and slashed .217/.277/.492, a 104 wRC+.
To be fair, maybe that was simply a sample size issue for Wisdom because for his career he has been good against lefties overall, posting a 119 wRC+ which is only one point worse than Cooper.
You do have to consider a few things here, though. The Cubs are re-signing Cody Bellinger and they need to make room for him on the 40-man roster, which is currently full. If the Cubs view Cooper vs. Wisdom to play against lefties, then consider that Wisdom is set to earn $2.725 million in 2024, while Cooper would be cheaper coming in on a minor league deal.
The Cubs can afford to keep other guys on the 40-man roster through spring training before deciding to add Cooper and by then they may have figured out who they feel comfortable losing, but aren’t there yet now. So, by trading Wisdom, the Cubs get something back, have a month to figure out on their 40-man and still have Cooper to hit lefties.
By the way, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see a few trades from the Cubs before Opening Day.
