Garrett Cooper DFAd to Make Room for Matt Mervis

Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reported Tuesday morning that both Matt Mervis and Hayden Wesneski were being promoted to Chicago, though corresponding moves were not known. Wesneski has been down fewer than 10 days, so he can only come up due to an injury. Initial thoughts were that Ian Happ might need an IL stint, but the outfielder told 670 The Score that he was planning on playing in Tuesday’s game.

Setting that aside, we now know how the Cubs made room for Mervis. Multiple fans spotted Garrett Cooper leaving Wrigley Field this afternoon and Jesse Rogers confirmed on ESPN 1000 that the DH/outfielder has been designated for assignment. That’s a bit of a curious move given his production from the right side, but Patrick Wisdom is back now and the Cubs may just want to lean into lefty pop with Mervis and Michael Busch.

Fwiw…Garrett Cooper just walked out of the Cubs clubhouse and back into the player garage with his bag. #Cubs

— Ethan Wiles (@Ethan_Wiles10) April 23, 2024

As for Wesneski, well, we’re still waiting to see what the Cubs do. People have been speculating about a Kyle Hendricks injury, either phantom or legit, for a while now and it’s possible that’s the move. Drew Smyly stayed in the game on Sunday despite a visit from trainer Nick Frangella, so perhaps something is bothering him. I’d say Smyly is more likely than Hendricks, but maybe it’s someone else entirely.

The other little wrinkle here is that parting ways with Cooper opens up a 40-man spot in addition to making room on the active roster. That would allow the Cubs to add another arm to provide more depth in light of all their injuries and inconsistency. I’d love for them to catapult Cade Horton all the way to Chicago, but that probably isn’t in the cards just yet.

More to come.