Jed Hoyer defends reason for avoiding hot-hitting prospect as a September call-up

With Major League rosters expanding in September, Chicago Cubs were met with the undesirable reunion with utility infielder Miles Mastrobuoni.

The Iowa Cubs roster is littered with top prospects--Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcantara, and Owen Caissie--and given the offensive profiles that each of the players have, many fans thought September would have been the right time for one of them to have their Major League debut.

Before we dive further into the reasoning from Jed Hoyer as to why one of those prospects is not currently with the Major League team, a reminder that a player has to be on the 40-man roster in order to be eligible to be a call-up in September.

For those three prospects, specifically, only Alcantara is on the 40-man roster. Given his eligibility for the Rule 5 draft this winter, Caissie will need to be added to the 40-man roster before December. The Cubs do not have to add Shaw to their 40-man roster this offseason, meaning the 2023 first-round pick isn't likely to get a promotion to the Major League level this level.

While it's possible that Alcantara or Caissie will get a look at the Major League level before the end of the season, Hoyer explained the caution involved in such a decision.

The Cubs won't promote top prospects for the mere purpose of promoting them.

Hoyer's response is for everyone who complained last September about the Cubs not playing Pete Crow-Armstrong or Alexander Canario when they were in the middle of their push for a postseason berth. As the Cubs have seen with Crow-Armstrong, there is little value to a prospect arriving in September only to sit on the bench for most of the month.

There is no requirement for teams to promote their top prospects in September, especially when it doesn't make sense. Sure, as a bench piece, it's possible that Caissie would be a better option than Mastrobuoni but that wouldn't be the needle-mover that some fans think it would be. Not to mention, with Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ian Happ all having recent success, the Cubs' offense, especially among their outfielders, is not a problem. Caissie's time will come and if it is not in September of this season, it won't be a missed opportunity for the Cubs.