7 Cubs prospects who are expendable, 2 they should keep for 2025

Since late 2020, Jed Hoyer has had one mission: revamp a farm system that lay in ruins after the Chicago Cubs repeatedly pushed their chips in following the team's 2016 World Series championship. With seven of MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects - including six at Triple-A - the system is, no doubt, in better shape than three years ago.

Now comes the question of what to do with this crop of young talent. With a big-league roster that's largely locked in, there won't be a path to regular playing time for all these guys. Staring down a critical offseason, Hoyer may very well wind up moving some of these prospects for established players to plug into holes at the MLB level.

That doesn't mean everyone is available. Here are seven Cubs prospects who are expendable and two the team needs to hold onto this winter.

A trio of top Cubs outfield prospects could be on the trade block

It seems highly unlikely the Chicago Cubs trade Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario and Owen Caissie in one offseason, but with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki under team control through 2026 and Pete Crow-Armstrong under lock and key through the end of the decade, this is a clear area of depth Hoyer could - and should - tap into this winter.

Canario came over in the Kris Bryant trade along with Caleb Kilian and, despite decent numbers in a small MLB sample size and quality production at Triple-A, Chicago seems to have very little interest in giving Canario some runway at the big-league level. He makes for an obvious trade chip at this point and an .866 OPS at Iowa in his minor-league career will surely draw interest.

Kevin Alcantara came over from the Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo deal three years ago and is now knocking on the door. With an OBP pushing .400 at Iowa this summer across 35 games, you could afford to let him get some more seasoning before making a decision, but as a top 100 guy, he could be a valuable asset to help the Cubs shore up the bullpen or swing a deal for a power bat.

A lot of folks thought we might see Owen Caissie as a September call-up, but alas. He finished out the year at Triple-A Iowa and, like Alcantara and Canario, hung an OPS around that .850 mark with the I-Cubs. If he's still in the organization next year and Cody Bellinger is a thing of the past, maybe he gets a chance to compete for a starting gig, with Suzuki sliding into the DH role permanently.