Forgotten ex-Cubs top prospect just got a brutal reality check from the Pirates

Name a former Chicago Cubs prospect, and they may suddenly be without a job this week. Christopher Morel was designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays, Luis Vazquez was designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles, and Alexander Canario was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Considering the Cubs are entering a 2026 season where there could be some lofty expectations for Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, and Kevin Alcantara, the moves across baseball this week could be a reflection that the Cubs, at one point, thought too highly of their top prospects. In other words, if 2026 is going to be a season where the expectation is to contend, counting solely on Caissie and Ballesteros may not be the brightest of ideas.

Alexander Canario's latest roster move proves the Kris Brant trade truly was a swing-and-miss trade.

Considering Caleb Kilian is a free agent and Canario spent the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, there was already proof that the 2021 trade of Kris Bryant didn't age well for the Cubs. Trading Bryant has proven to be the correct decision for the Cubs, but it's laughable how bad the prospects have aged from the deal.

The knock on the Cubs when it came to Canario is that they never gave him an extended runway at the Major League level. To be fair, considering the Cubs already had Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cody Bellinger, and Seiya Suzuki as part of their outfield mix while Canario was still with the organization, there wasn't a clear opening.

Still, fans pointed to Canario's 147 wRC+ in 17 plate appearances in 2023 and 125 mark in 2024 as a reason why they the Cubs should have given him more plate appearances. That seemingly was the goal for the Pirates in 2025, and as it turns out, Canario has his limitations. In 234 plate appearances with the Pirates, Canario slashed .218/.274/.338 with a 68 wRC+ while striking out over 34% of the time.

The hope is that the Cubs' farm system has reached the point where it is churning out productive position players at the Major League level, and Crown-Armstrong and Matt Shaw could be proof of that. Question marks remain for the rest of their top prospects, and that remains the issue with the Cubs ignoring offensive upgrades this offseason.