Jed Hoyer confirms major injury to key prospect acquired at MLB Trade Deadline

In the only move the Chicago Cubs made on the day of the MLB trade deadline, the team sent Mark Leiter Jr. to the New York Yankees in exchange for IF Ben Cowles, and RP Jack Neely. Unfortunately, over the weekend, Cowles was hit by a pitch on the wrist, and it has now been determined that he will likely be done for the remainder of the 2024 season:

Jed Hoyer obviously knew about the injury before pulling the trigger on the deal, content with Cowles’ upside moving forward. This is an unfortunate development as the team looked to have three key infield prospects, Matt Shaw, James Triantos, and Cowles, playing together. However, we will now likely not get a glimpse of Cowles’ upside before the organization looks ahead to the rule-5 draft this winter.

Cowles would not have been traded for if Hoyer was not planning to add him to the 40-man roster this winter. The injury is unfortunate, but it wouldn’t have made sense to snag someone in a trade that you’re planning to let walk in a few short months. Although Neely is likely the player the Cubs were happier to add to their farm system, 24-year-old Cowles still has plenty of upside, but he will need to pick up immediately where he left off this year, as he will now be behind, and potentially blocked, by the Cubs’ other top infield prospects.

Next season, will be Cowles’ age-25 season, and still, at Double-A, he will need to rapidly ascend the ranks as he is starting to age a bit for the level he will be at. The rest of 2024 being lost does not bode well for him; but hopefully, he had started to figure something out, as he was slashing .295/.376/.472 in Somerset before injury.