Chicago Cubs inexplicably wasting Alexander Canario on the bench

The Chicago Cubs made the right call on Friday when the team made the decision to promote outfield prospect Alexander Canario to the Major League roster on the first day that rosters expanded from 26 to 28.

Canario was the hottest hitting prospect in the Cubs' system during the month of August as he had an OPS over 1.000 with the Iowa Cubs and while it was clear that Canario was not going to get everyday at-bats, there certainly was a case to be made for Canario to get plate appearances against left-handed starting pitching. Especially when you consider the slumps that are currently within the Cubs' starting lineups.

Frustration is beginning with the Cubs and their treatment of Canario as for the fourth consecutive game, Canario is not in the team's starting lineup.

If Canario truly was going to be at the bottom of the depth chart like manager David Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer indicated on Friday, then the team made a horrible mistake in promoting a prospect that is worthy of Top-100 consideration when healthy.

The point of promoting Canario to the Major League roster was to take advantage of his hot bat, especially for a Cubs' offense that has struggled to score a single run in every game that they have played this week.

If the additional roster spot truly was meant to be as depth in the event of an injury or a player needing a day off, then the Cubs would have been better off promoting one of David Bote, Edwin Rios, or PJ Higgins on Friday instead of Canario. It wasn't even a case of Canario being on the 40-man roster as the Cubs had open spaces and could easily add one of the three minor-league veterans to the roster.

Great teams show an ability to adapt when the circumstances dictate that their strategy is not working. The Cubs' strategy is not working and Ross is once again too stubborn to notice.

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