The Chicago Cubs have once again acquired infielder Ben Cowles as the obsession to keep him rages on. The Cubs claimed Cowles off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, which means he’ll be moving spring training sites from Florida to Arizona overnight.
We’ll see this from time to time around MLB as a team will play yo-yo with a player during the offseason and in some instances it even goes on during the regular season. Cowles, now 26-years-old, first made his way on the Cubs back in 2024, when he was traded from the New York Yankees along with Jack Neely to the Cubs in exchange for right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr.
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for Cowles with the Cubs. He barely played after the trade in 2024, because of a wrist injury that he suffered from getting hit by a pitch, but despite the limited playing time the Cubs believed in him enough to protect him in the Rule 5 Draft heading into 2025.
Cowles was on the Cubs’ 40-man roster to begin last year, but the right-handed hitting infielder was designated for assignment in September. In 113 games with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A, Cowles slashed .238/.304/.382, with nine home runs, 44 RBI and 16 stolen bases. This is when Cowles’ journey across the country began.
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On Aug. 31, 2025, Cowles played his last game for the Iowa Cubs on the road against the Athletics’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas. He was DFA’d the next day and was then claimed off waivers by the White Sox. So, Cowles, I’m assuming, gathered his things from Iowa, and then went across to the country to Charlotte, NC, to play in his first Triple-A game with the White Sox on Sept. 4.
Cowles played in 15 games with the Charlotte Knights, remained in the White Sox organization for a few months in the offseason and then on Jan. 8, he was designated for assignment. Then, the Cubs claimed him off waivers on Jan. 15. But wait! Exactly one month later, the Cubs designated him for assignment again to make room for Shelby Miller.
The Blue Jays gave Cowles a lifeline heading into spring training as they picked up Cowles off waivers on Feb. 18. Cowles appeared in five games with the Blue Jays in Grapefruit League action in Florida before the Cubs came right back and claimed Cowles off waivers.
This latest move was kind of full circle as Cowles replaced Miller on the 40-man roster. Cowles was initially DFA’d in February to make room for Miller.
The Cubs MLB infielder is stacked with Matt Shaw currently serving as a utility man. Veterans Scott Kingery and Owen Miller are in camp, competing for a bench spot, so it’s still a long shot that Cowles will be up any time soon with the Cubs. However, he’ll be back at Triple-A to begin the 2026 season and for his sake you hope he can stick around for the entire year.
