Cooper Bowman: Everything you need to know

The Athletics traded Bowman to the Rays on Monday in exchange for Gerlin Rosario, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports. Bowman was returned to the Athletics on March 12 after spending spring training with the Reds as a Rule 5 draft pick. He'll now head to Tampa Bay, where he will likely open the season with Triple-A Durham. Bowman appeared in 71 games for Triple-A Las Vegas in 2025, finishing with a .231/.323/.369 slash line with 21 steals, six home runs and 60 RBI in 297 plate appearances.

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.

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.