The New York Mets made an interesting trade on Monday, acquiring the recently DFA'd Alexander Canario in a deal with the Chicago Cubs. On the surface, this made a lot of sense: The Mets acquired Canario, a player who was once an interesting prospect in Chicago's organization and who has had some MLB success in his limited opportunities at that level, in exchange for just cash considerations. The trade itself was a no-brainer, and one most other teams would've probably made.
But a deeper dive into the deal made it seem a bit fishy. The Mets were acquiring an outfielder who, while promising, is out of Minor League options, meaning that the Mets cannot send him down to the without him clearing waivers — which, given Canario's background, was probably unlikely to occur. Sure, the Mets could choose to keep him on their MLB roster, but with Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor, Jesse Winker, Starling Marte, and even Jeff McNeil as outfield options who'd slot in ahead of Canario on the team's depth chart, that was unlikely.
The Mets already had an abundance of outfield depth, which is why Marte was being shopped in trade discussions over the offseason. Adding another outfielder who could not be optioned made little sense unless something else was going on. Sure enough, something else appears to be going on.
Marte is dealing with a right knee injury, and it's unclear as to when he'll be able to get into Grapefruit League games. The Mets think he can physically be a Major Leaguer, but they clearly aren't 100 percent on that. Now we know why the Mets made this move.
No word on when Starling Marte (right knee still) will get into Grapefruit League games.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) February 26, 2025
Carlos Mendoza said he has "some good days, some not so good" in his running progression.
The Mets remain confident he physically can be a major-leaguer still.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Starling Marte's injury update reveals why Mets made Alexander Canario trade
It makes sense that the Mets are playing things slowly with Marte, a 36-year-old who has dealt with a bevy of injuries during his three-year tenure with the team, but it's hard not to be concerned here. If Marte has been dealing with knee soreness since last summer, that's a problem.
Regardless of whether Marte was healthy or not, the Mets giving an extended tryout to Canario, a player with some promise, in exchange for virtually nothing isn't a bad move, but the odds of him actually sticking around past spring training felt extremely slim. Now, Canario appears to be fighting for a roster spot.
Marte is expected to take on a reduced role this season when healthy, primarily serving as the team's DH against left-handed pitching. Well, if Canario performs well enough in spring training and Marte is unavailable on Opening Day, he can easily slot into that role. It probably isn't ideal to have a 24-year-old playing only occasionally at DH against southpaws, but Canario, a player who hit 18 home runs in just 64 Minor League games this past season and has hit as many as 37 round-trippers in a full season previously, can thrive in that role. He had a .961 OPS against left-handers in 2024 in the Minors, nearly 200 points higher than his .799 mark against right-handers.
If Marte is available by Opening Day, the Mets might end up losing Canario for nothing. If not, New York might have a better contingency plan than they might have initially thanks to this trade.