A risky reunion with a huge Cubs trade bust could be an option for Jed Hoyer

In hindsight, trading Kris Bryant was the right move. It didn't feel like it at the time. In fact, it felt like getting our hearts ripped out watching Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo pack their bags at the 2021 trade deadline. But looking back, Jed Hoyer made the right call - no doubt about it.

The Bryant deal brought back a pair of prospects from the San Francisco Giants in Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian. Both were bright spots in the Giants' system at the time and the hope was Chicago was netting a pair of long-term assets in the move.

As we know now, though, that was hardly the case.

Canario made his big-league debut in 2023, but only played in 21 big-league games for the Cubs across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He never got consistent at-bats and was designated for assignment ahead of the 2025 campaign, latching on with the Pittsburgh Pirates before taking his talents overseas last offseason.

Kilian, meanwhile, made his MLB debut in his very first full season with the Cubs organization, but the results were just never there. In limited action from 2022-24, injuries handcuffed the right-hander, limiting him to just 27 1/3 innings in Chicago - and they weren't exactly 'quality', either: he allowed nearly a dozen hits per nine, carried an ERA north of 9.00 and walked nearly as many batters as he struck out.

Off to a strong start, could a Caleb Kilian reunion make sense for the Cubs?

Last winter, Kilian returned to the Giants on a minor-league deal after yet another injury-shortened season in the Cubs' system. And, all of the sudden, he's living up to the hype that once surrounded him as a prospect, pitching to a 1.40 ERA in 19 1/3 innings of work out of the San Francisco bullpen entering action Thursday night.

So he should be a Cubs trade target, right? Not so fast.

That ERA is head-turning, no doubt. But if you pop the hood and take a look, there are all kinds of red flags - and you don't even have to squint to see them. He's been greatly aided by an unsustainable .159 BABIP, is still walking 15 percent of the batters he's faced and his 4.50 FIP suggests a return to the norm is very likely.

His Baseball Savant page paints an encouraging picture, though, (walk rate aside). He's got the upper-90s fastball velocity this Cubs bullpen could use, has been excellent at limiting hard-hit balls and missing barrels and his xERA offers a rosier picture than his FIP at 3.35.

There isn't a clear-cut answer here, but with the Giants just trying to stay out of the cellar in the NL West, don't be surprised if Hoyer has San Francisco on his list of teams to look at as he explores the market for pitching help in the weeks and months to come.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow