The Chicago Cubs called up 23-year-old prospect Alexander Canario on Sept. 1, and in 11 games played by the team, the right-handed slugger was given exactly one plate appearance before being optioned back down to Triple-A on Monday.

I understand the reasoning as to why Canario wasn’t used during his brief cup of coffee in the majors, but I cannot grasp the thought process behind his promotion to the big leagues if this was the plan all along. On Monday, the Cubs called up Pete Crow-Armstrong, who replaced Canario on the team’s 28-man roster.

Prior to his September call up, Canario last started at Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs on Aug. 30. His next plate appearance came on Sept. 6, a pinch-hit at-bat in the eighth inning against San Francisco Giants closer Camilo Doval. Canario struck out swinging on a 3-2 fastball.

I mean, there were definitely chances to get Canario a few plate appearances. The Cubs played a double header against the Cincinnati Reds when Canario was first called up and during this time on the active roster guys like Mike Tauchman and Christopher Morel were both struggling.

The baffling thing, though, is that Canario missed the majority of the 2023 season, returning until June after recovering from two separate surgeries to repair his shoulder and ankle that were both injured during a game in Winter Ball in October 2022. You would think the Cubs would want him to get as much playing time as possible after missing multiple months to start the year. Canario’s played in 53 minor league games so far this season.

Plus, after his long layoff and getting back into a rhythm, Canario was finally looking like himself at the plate. During the month of August, Canario had a slash line of .305/.356/.632, with 7 home runs in 104 plate appearances. And then he got called up to sit on the bench for almost two weeks.

I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

At least Canario will now get every-day at-bats to end the season at Triple-A.

Alexander Canario Called Back Up

Well, the unusual journey in the major leagues continues for Alexander Canario, who is back with the Cubs a day after he was demoted to Triple-A. The Cubs placed Jeimer Candelario on the 10-day injured list. The switch-hitter did not play on Monday after he was taken out early during Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Well, at least Canario wasn’t stuck on a plane, needing to fly back and forth from Triple-A to Colorado, where the Cubs will continue their series against the Rockies. Still not sure how many, if any at all, at-bats Canario will receive while Candelario recovers, but at least he’ll continue to live the MLB lifestyle a little bit longer.