5 Chicago Cubs Prospects who could get traded this season

Alexander Canario

OF Triple-A Iowa

Alexander Canario is a victim of circumstance in this situation. He’s had two cups of coffee with the Major League club, and he’s put together a .282/.333/.538 slash line over 39 at-bats. The strikeouts were obviously too high, with 19 strikeouts amounting to a nearly 50% strikeout rate, but that 137 OPS+ is certainly good enough to grab the attention of other teams.

Canario is not dissimilar from Nelson Velazquez in this scenario who the Cubs traded for Jose Cuas last season only to see him have a solid end of the 2023 season with 14 homers in just 40 games. 

Canario had a great minor league slash-line last season across three levels of the minors. He hit .273/.356/.488 and while he’s struggled a bit since returning to Iowa this season there’s plenty of reason to remain excited about his profile. 

On a different team or at a different time he might make sense in the Major League outfield. However, the Cubs have Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki all locked up through 2026 and they also have top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong as well as breakout surprise Mike Tauchman, making it seemingly impossible for him to find playing time at Wrigley Field. 

He is different from Mervis in the fact that he has been successful at the Major League level and could slot into either of the corners and potentially even center field if needed. He just turned 24 in May, has defensive versatility and a power/speed combination that could potentially lead to several 20/20 seasons and that’s something plenty of teams would consider to be worth trading for.