3 Cubs prospects most impacted by the Cody Bellinger signing

Alexander Canario is probably in the same boat as Pete Crow-Armstrong

Another outfield prospect we got our first glimpse of in 2023, Alexander Canario, probably just lost his shot at making the Opening Day roster, as well. He was more of a long shot than Crow-Armstrong, so with Bellinger back - barring an injury - there's no chance he opens the year in Chicago.

Part of the Kris Bryant trade, along with Caleb Kilian, Canario spent the largest chunk of his 2023 season with Triple-A Iowa, putting up an .866 OPS. Still, he's got just 56 games at that level under his belt, so letting him really get settled in and get a full season of Triple-A at-bats could go a long way toward setting him up long-term.

The elephant in the room here is that if Bellinger plays well, he's almost certainly to opt out after the season. Which means, yes, while it's frustrating for Canario and PCA to be relegated to Iowa, there's a good chance they are asked to be key contributors sooner rather than later, making what should be a final year of polishing and fine-tuning their games all the more critical.