The Red Sox have released first baseman Garrett Cooper, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive on X. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He’s now free to sign with any club.
Cooper, now 33, has had some strong results in the past but this hasn’t been his year. He came into the campaign with a career batting line of .268/.337/.435, production that translates to a wRC+ of 110. But he slumped a bit in 2023, as his .251/.304/.419 slash was a bit below his previous work and led to a subpar 96 wRC+.
It was an unfortunate time for a dip, as he was entering free agency for the first time and had to settle for a minor league deal with the Cubs. He cracked that club’s Opening Day roster and hit a solid .270/.341/.432, but with a .391 batting average on balls in play. Since he was striking out 31.7% of the time, it seems the Cubs figured his batted ball luck wouldn’t continue and they decided to quit while they were ahead, designating him for assignment.
The Red Sox were playing without first baseman Triston Casas and decided to take a chance on Cooper, sending cash to the Cubs to bring him aboard. Then designated hitter Masataka Yoshida also got hurt, prompting the Sox to add Dominic Smith as well.
But Cooper’s luck faded after joining Boston, as he had a .250 BABIP and a line of .171/.227/.229. Smith hasn’t been amazing but his .222/.333/.324 line is obviously far less bleak than what Cooper managed to produce. Cooper has played the outfield corners a little bit in his career but is mostly a first baseman. He’s considered a decent glove at first but obviously needs to hit more than that.
Cooper has now been set free by the Sox and can look for his next opportunity. The results have clearly been poor this year but he’s sure to be able to find a minor league deal somewhere based on his previous track record. It’s been a rough day for struggling first base/designated hitter types. In addition to Cooper, the Astros released José Abreu, the Rays released Harold Ramírez and the Blue Jays designated Daniel Vogelbach for assignment.
Is today “Release a fringe first baseman” day?
Cooooooooopppp(‘they’re not booing him they’re saying Cooooooooppp’) .. maybe in his case they were booing him…. Oh and Yankees sux!!!!
Hans Moleman: I was saying “Coo-per”
Dressed up like a million-dollar trouper
Trying hard to look like Garrett Cooper
Super-Duper!
Thanks for reminding me of that awful song. If it sticks in my head I’m coming for you.
Nicely done!!! One of best scenes in Young Frankenstein!!!
Olm – I watched that move in the theater, but literally can’t remember a single line from it. You’ve got a great memory!
Same thing with Blazing Saddles, I remember the hilarious campfire scene but that’s it!
Rule of thumb: if you’re not better than Bobby Dalbec, then get DFA’d.
Should we try to go for Abreu on a cheap deal? It might be worth a try.
Oh he is, But Dalbec is still under team control.
I wasn’t saying he should go too, though I’m not opposed. Just pointing out that anyone worse or less versatile than Dalbec has to go
Dom Smith is actually hitting and with O’Neill needing DH time and Yoshida back there’s really no need for Abreu
Yeah that .124 batting average should help a lot. Why do you guys think Houston released him. He has nothing left !
Casey Kotchman 2.0
There goes another
Our team gets the worst production at first base in baseball. Truly amazing! Dalbac ain’t the answer either!
Al – I agree, they need to bring back Shea Hillenbrand.
Hillenbrand was underrated and was solid after being traded. Really they need Brian Daubach back…
Dalbac cannot hit and never could except for one fluke year in 2021. He then flopped in the playoffs against Houston.
I’ll raise you a Kevin Youkilis.
Rsox – I wouldn’t mind the Belleville Basher..
But to save money, the Red Sox should sign Scott Cooper. They wouldn’t need a new uniform for him, he could wear the one Garrett did. Every penny saved counts, right?
Scott Cooper never should have left Fenway. 2× All Star (’93-’94) with the Sox, traded for Mark Whiten (who was a total bust in Boston) only to be out of Baseball by age 29
Rsox – You are totally right, Whiten wasn’t very hard hittin’ with the Red Sox. He will forever be remembered as one of only 18 players to hit 4 homers in one game, and I believe the only one to also have a grand slam in the 4-homer game.
The last player to hit 4? JD Martinez
Good numbers with the Cardinals. I remember that off-season after the strike being excited about all of the Sox new additions:
Whiten
Jose Canseco
Mike MacFarlane
Luis Alicea
Erik Hanson
Zane Smith
Rheal Cormier
And while they made the playoffs it was the two under the radar pickups; Tim Wakefield and Troy O’Leary that made the most and lasting impact
The Yankees will wipe up the floor with this team this weekend. We should be about 15 games out. Breslow, are you going to pick up more waiver wire players to put us over the top? LOL I think Breslow is going to be a one and done Baseball Op Guy. The Boston Media and fans are not going to tolerate this crap.
Al – What did you think of last night’s game?
Dugie with 3 hits, a homerun and 4 RBI.
O’Neill hitless in 5 PA’s with 4 strikeouts and an error in RF.
it would be a whole different story if Casas hadn’t gotten hurt. I can’t imagine the pain of cracking cartilage in one of your ribs.
Also take a look at the all star ballot, it’s a down year for AL first basemen. so far.
Yaz – That All-Star Ballot really cracked me up, especially seeing Grissom listed on it.
Back in the day they had to print the ballots very early in the season, but now it’s all digital so having him on the ballot was hilarious.
Bring up Kavadas.Either he is good or you get rid of him.You have some time before Casas gets back.
I would give him 30 games.If he doesn’t hit release him.30 games should give you an idea.