FILE - Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell looks on before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Chicago. Counsell is meeting with the Cleveland Guardians about their managerial opening, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Quinn Harris, File)
The Milwaukee Brewers currently have left-handed hitting Jake Bauers penciled in as a contributor at first base and righty Owen Miller slated underneath him. It has been assumed that GM Matt Arnold is looking for another first baseman to add into the mix. He hasn’t ruled out a reunion with switch hitting veteran Carlos Santana, but one other free agent option to consider is Garrett Cooper.
33 year old Garrett Cooper began his MLB journey by being selected in the sixth round of the 2013 draft by the Brewers. Despite never being a top prospect he excelled in Milwaukee’s farm system but his lack of power held his stock at bay. In 2017 he was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-handed pitcher Tyler Webb.
After debuting with the Yankees in 2017 Cooper spent the better half of six seasons with the Miami Marlins, but with free agency looming he was traded at the deadline last summer to the San Diego Padres. He now has reached six years of MLB service time and is testing the open market for the first time in his career.
Throughout his career Cooper has one All-Star appearance that came in 2022. He set career highs a season ago in games (123), plate appearances (457), home runs (17), and runs batted in (61). His career OPS+ is 109, he has a .816 OPS against left-handed pitchers, and defensively he is slightly above average.
Garrett Cooper would be a cheaper first base option when compared to other available players such as Rhys Hoskins, Carlos Santana, C.J. Cron, and Joey Gallo. Spotrac has Cooper’s value estimated at $6.9 million. This is just slightly higher than the projections they have for Joey Votto and Will Myers.
