Cubs rumors: Cody Bellinger's price and suitors, division race, Canario plan
- The Cubs called up Alexander Canario, here's the plan for him
- The division race is still hot. Here's where things stand in predictive models
- Cody Bellinger is going to be expensive, and rich suitors could drive the price up beyond what the Cubs want to pay
By Josh Wilson
Cubs plan for Alexander Canario after call-up
Alexander Canario has been called up to the show, but the Chicago Cubs plan for getting him reps at this stage in the season is perplexing some.
Jed Hoyer spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times about Canario and what the plan is for the outfielder who hit an .866 OPS in Triple-A this season. Canario does not have an easy route to get into games because the Cubs are in the midst of a playoff push and have what they need for the most part in the outfield.
“He’ll get at-bats for sure the rest of the way,” Hoyer said. “He’s not going to be in a position where he’s not playing for the entire month. But someone was going to have their every-day playing paused, right? And maybe that ends up being a lot of people at different stages of the month. But we did talk about it, and it was a consideration. But ultimately, he was the right decision.”
The balance for a young player here is whether or not he should continue to get consistent playing time in the minors or get exposure, even if it's just observation and bench warming, at the major league level. Some fans are pining to see him hit the field, but pushing him out too early could risk hurting his confidence if he struggles at the higher level of play while teams are battling hard for playoff positioning.
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Canario, while he's with the big league roster, still gets the feel of what things are like at the higher level from a lifestyle and culture standpoint, which could prove very useful for him in the long run when he does finally get his playing time call-up down the line.
There's a case to be made for both options, but for now he rides with the big league team.