The Cubs selected Cowles to their 40-man roster Tuesday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Cowles was acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline as part of the Mark Leiter deal, though a wrist injury limited Cowles to playing just four games with Double-A Tennessee at the very end of the year. Prior to his injury, the 24-year-old infielder had slashed .292/.372/.471 with 52 RBI across 379 plate appearances. He'll likely be bumped up to Triple-A Iowa for the start of 2025.