Category: Rob Bowen

Rob Bowen Tribute Video

July 19, 2007 by Squib Hits

Now presenting -- A tribute video of Rob Bowen, highlighting his time with the Chicago Cubs:

Cubs Trade for Jason Kendall

July 16, 2007 by cubsnet

Three years from now, most everyone will have forgotten that Rob Bowen once played for the Chicago Cubs. Like Jody Gerut. The Cubs traded Bowen and 6'6" lefthanded minor league reliever Jerry Blevins to the Oakland A's today for catcher Jason Kendall.

So much for the Geovany Soto experiment, as Kendall will become the everyday catcher, with Koyie Hill likely having the inside track to remain the backup. With Billy Petrick back, giving the Cubs 12 pitchers again, one of Hill or Soto is going back to Iowa.

Kendall is hitting .226/.261/.281 for the A's this year, "good" for an adjusted OPS+ of 46. In 2006, he had an 89 OPS+ and in 2005 he had a 77 OPS+.

Apparently, somene in the Cubs' organization has a long memory, recalling that Kendall has hit .302/.392/.425 in his career against the Cubs, mostly from his time with the Pirates from 1996-2004.

Cubs Trade Michael Barrett to San Diego

June 20, 2007 by cubsnet

The Chicago Cubs have traded Michael Barrett to the San Diego Padres, reports ESPN.com. The Cubs get back catcher Rob Bowen, a minor league pitcher (unknown at this time), and cash considerations. There must have been more to Barrett's personality conflicts than Cubs' players were letting on, for the Cubs do not have another catcher who can hit for much. Barrett was in last night's lineup, hitting 5th, going 2-for-5, in the Cubs' 5-4 win over the Rangers.

Bowen, 26, has been the Padres' backup catcher the past two seasons, and is actually having a good year at the plate this season, hitting .268/.371/.439 in 98 plate appearances.

UPDATE (10:45am): FOXSports.com's Ken Ronsenthal reports that instead of a minor league pitcher, the Cubs have acquired minor league outfielder Kyler Burke. (Hat tip: Another Cubs Blog.)

UPDATE (1:05pm): Jim Hendry, unsurprisingly, says the trade was about defense, not personality conflicts: "We just felt like we were trying to shore up the position in a little different fashion, a little bit more defensively." Also, Greg Maddux gave the Padres an endorsement of Barrett.