The New York Mets picked up 24-year-old outfielder Alexander Canario, a young talent that has shown flashes of a big bat, from the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations late Monday night.
A right-handed bat which had been designated for assignment by Chicago earlier this month, Canario owns a career .847 OPS in 519 minor-league games. Last season in Triple-A, he hit 18 home runs with an .850 OPS in just 64 games.
During the 2022 season, he hit 37 home runs in 125 games across three levels of the minors, including 24 in 81 Double-A games.
He appeared in 15 games with the Cubs in 2024, batting .280 with a .357 on-base percentage and one home run in 25 at-bats. His strikeout rate was a concern, though, with 11 in that limited MLB spell.
Canario provides outfield depth toward the top of the Mets’ minor-league system, as he will likely begin his career in New York with Triple-A Syracuse. He would become an immediate fill-in bench option to join the team in Queens should injuries strike or a trade be made.
Tyrone Taylor is coming off an offseason which featured surgeries on his elbow and a hernia. The Mets also spent the majority of the offseason trying to trade Starling Marte, though they found no takers.
Granted, outfield depth is not much of an issue for David Stearns’ club. Jesse Winker, slated to get mostly platooned DH, is a natural corner outfielder, while starting second baseman Jeff McNeil is also capable of playing out there as well.
In a corresponding move, the Mets moved Nick Madrigal, who suffered a fractured left shoulder during Sunday’s spring-training matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, to the 60-day IL.
