The one Cubs top prospect who won’t be off the table in trade talks

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the most interesting teams at the deadline over the past few years. At the deadline in 2021, they blew it up, trading away the core players from their World Series run in 2016. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez were all traded away over a two day stretch, and they ultimately finished fourth in the NL Central.

2022 was a year where they were stuck in limbo, though they were improved from the prior season. Going into 2023, Chicago signed Cody Bellinger in hopes that he would bounce back and they could continue to improve steadily, with the help of their loaded farm system. Yet, it looked like they would be sellers going into the deadline, with Bellinger's name popping up a lot in rumors.

They ultimately stood pat and with the re-emergence of Bellinger and the total breakout from Justin Steele, they just missed out on the playoffs. Bellinger was re-signed, but not much else was done to improve the team, aside from trading for Michael Busch, who has looked incredible thus far.

Although Shota Imanaga has yet to allow a run through three starts, they have a slew of injuries to the pitching staff. Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon are on the IL and Julian Merryweather is an injured arm in the bullpen. Not to mention, it looks like it's over for Kyle Hendricks. It's possible they could use their good farm system to find an arm to add somewhere.

What prospect could be available from the Cubs?

While the Cubs just missed the playoffs last year and may have overperformed, they do have one big luxury: they have the second best farm system in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

Of course, there are going to be some untouchable players in a system like that. Some of those names will likely include Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cade Horton and Owen Caissie, among others. Those top three could potentially help the team in a big way this year, especially Crow-Armstrong and Horton.

With such a stacked farm system, who would even be available in a potential trade? ESPN's David Schoenfield listed a player from each team who could be on the move and named prospect Alexander Canario as the Cubs player who could be on the move.

The Cubs acquired Canario in the trade that sent Kris Bryant to the San Francisco Giants in 2021. The outfielder was a pretty raw prospect with a lot of power potential, but also a lot of strikeout downside. He showed off that power in 2022, his first full season in the Cubs system and he did it across three levels. Ultimately reaching Triple-A, Canario played 125 games and smashed 37 home runs with an .899 OPS, driving in 97 runs, but striking out 147 times to 59 walks.

Despite the high power upside, Canario has been surpassed in the Cubs system by some players, leaving him blocked and with little chance at playing time in the future. While he has hit .316 in 19 big league at-bats, there doesn't seem to be a long-term fit for him in Chicago. That leaves him as a potential piece the Cubs could trade for an arm later this season.

Unless he's included in a package, he likely won't fetch more than a reliever, but with a bullpen that has seen veterans like Hector Neris, Adbert Alzolay and Yency Almonte struggle, that could be something very valuable for a playoff push. Canario has some intriguing tools and a team could see him as a player they could further develop, while the Cubs look for extra arms to make a playoff push later in the year.