Inside The Cubs

Former Top Cubs Prospect Traded for Second Time in Under Two Months

A former Chicago Cubs top prospect is trying to find his footing in the Majors after being traded for the second time this calendar year.

Dylan Sanders

Apr 20, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Alexander Canario (4) strikes out swinging during the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field.
Apr 20, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Alexander Canario (4) strikes out swinging during the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field. / Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
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A former Chicago Cubs top prospect is having trouble finding his footing in the league as he was just traded for the second time this calendar year.

New York Mets insider Anthony DiComo of MLB.com broke the news on Monday afternoon that the Mets had traded outfielder Alexander Canario to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.

New York had acquired Canario from the Cubs back in February. After a solid spring training, he was unable to make the team. He was DFA'd ahead of Opening Day and will now go to the Pirates with a chance to break through in a weaker roster.

Canario was once viewed as a potential star with Chicago and will have to work hard to get back to that level. At just 24, though, there is still plenty of time for things to change in the right direction for him.

The Dominican Republic native was always someone who's career was going to be closely watched by Cubs fans.

He came to Chicago as a part of the trade that sent Kris Bryant to the San Francisco Giants back at the 2021 deadline.

While Bryant's career has taken a steep dive since leaving the Cubs, it was still a big deal back then. He was an All-Star that year, so trading him away as a deadline rental did sting.

The other player that Chicago got back in that deal was Caleb Kilian. Kilian is still with the team, but has also not paid off. He has a career 9.22 ERA over 27.1 innings across three stints.

Canario had peaked in 2023 as the team's No. 11 prospect, but only fell down to No. 12 last year. It was a bit of a shock to see him DFA'd and traded away in the first place.

He had gotten off to a nice start over his first two short stints in MLB with a .286/.333/.524 slash line with two home runs across 45 plate appearances. That performance was backed up in the minors.

It is rare that a potential talent like this gets traded twice, so quickly, but it could lead to Pittsburgh getting lucky.

That would obviously be a bit ironic for the Cubs, seeing their former promising star break out for a different NL Central squad.

The Pirates had the worst offensive outfield in baseball last season and their only addition was a 37-year-old Tommy Pham, who has gotten off to a slow start.

There will certainly be room for Canario to contribute now.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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