The Reds returned Rule 5 pick Bowman to the Athletics on Wednesday.
Bowman, 25, went just 3-for-25 at the plate for Cincinnati this spring. He will likely open the 2025 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he had just a .592 OPS over 38 contests in 2024.
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Reds' Cooper Bowman: Moving around field
Rotowire
Bowman started in left field and went 0-for-2 in Sunday's spring game against San Francisco.
Bowman, a Rule 5 selection during the offseason, has experience at second base, shortstop and center field and is considered a defensive asset wherever he plays. Thus far in spring training, manager Terry Francona deployed the 25-year-old at first base and left field. The manager told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that the more positions Bowman can play, the better his chances of sticking with the team. "I told him, 'In fairness to you, we'd like to see you in as many places as we can.' Because the more versatile he is, the better," Francona said before Sunday's game. Bowman is 0-for-5 through two Cactus League games.
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Reds' Cooper Bowman: Snagged in Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
The Reds selected Bowman with the seventh pick in the Rule 5 draft Wednesday, JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports.
Bowman has at least plus speed and isn't a zero in the power department, so he could be fantasy relevant as a rookie if he were to find his way into steady playing time. A natural second baseman who can play a little bit in the outfield, Bowman had a strong run at Double-A in 2024, slashing .281/.378/.466 with 12 home runs, 35 steals, a 12.4 percent walk rate and a 20.2 percent strikeout rate in 80 games. His production slipped in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching, as he slashed .218/.284/.308 with zero home runs, eight steals and a 24.3 percent strikeout rate in 38 games in the Pacific Coast League. The Reds will likely use Bowman as a bench piece unless they're shorthanded, but he has fantasy-relevant tools and is now headed to a great home park to maximize his fringe-average power.
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Athletics' Cooper Bowman: Headed to Oakland
Rotowire
Bowman was traded from the Yankees to the Athletics on Monday along with Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears and Luis Medina in exchange for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.
The lone hitter in the return heading to Oakland, Bowman is an older second baseman from the college ranks who boasts premium speed. The 22-year-old righty hitter has a .217/.343/.355 slash line with eight home runs, 35 steals and a 97:55 K:BB in 80 games at High-A.
