First baseman Garrett Cooper has made the Opening Day roster with the Cubs, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). He’s not on the 40-man roster, so Chicago will need to select his contract in the next few days.
Cooper somewhat surprisingly settled for a minor league deal after camp had begun. He was among 31 players who had the automatic ability to opt out of that contract today. Article XX(B) free agents — typically those with over six years of major league service who finish the previous season on an MLB roster — who sign a minor league deal over the offseason have the ability to opt out five days before Opening Day.
Whether Cooper did so or the Cubs expected he would is immaterial. In either case, he’ll get back to the majors as a righty-hitting complement to Michael Busch at first base and designated hitter. Cooper had a limited ramp-up period in Spring Training. He only appeared in 10 games but hit a pair of homers and a double over 30 trips to the plate. The 33-year-old has a .231/.333/.500 batting line in exhibition play.
Cooper spent the majority of his career with the Marlins. He was a quietly effective hitter when healthy, running a .269/.338/.436 slash for the Fish. That production dipped last season, as he was sitting on a .256/.296/.426 line in 82 games before Miami traded him to the Padres. Cooper’s finish in San Diego (.239/.323/.402) wasn’t much better and he hit the open market coming off his worst offensive season since he established himself as a major leaguer in 2019.
Calling Cooper up makes it seem unlikely that Chicago will have room for Dominic Smith. The lefty-swinging Smith opted out of his own minor league pact this afternoon. The Cubs have until Sunday to decide whether to add him to the MLB roster, but it’d be a surprise if they carried both players.
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