The Chicago Cubs were eliminated from the postseason last weekend, losing Game 5 of the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0. Players have cleaned up their locker rooms, packed up and are off to their offseason plans, but there always seems to be a couple players who end up needing surgeries following the season. The first one for the Cubs is No. 5 ranked prospect Kevin Alcántara.
The right-handed hitting outfielder played in 10 games for the Cubs in September and although he didn’t end up appearing in any playoff games Alcántara did make the roster for both the Wild Card and NLDS rounds in the postseason. The 23-year-old had an up and down season at Triple-A, finishing the year with an .819 OPS in 102 games with a slash line of .266/.349/.470, and 17 home runs in 430 plate appearances.
On Thursday, Marquee Sports Network reported that Alcántara underwent surgery on his core to repair a sports hernia.
The Cubs did not offer any further details or reveal a recovery timeline for Alcántara, but he’s expected to be ready to go by the time spring training arrives next February. Alcántara had the same surgery as shortstop Dansby Swanson, who also underwent the procedure last offseason and returned to action in spring training.
Alcántara began 2025 somewhat underperforming at Triple-A, as the outfielder recorded a .715 OPS in his first 57 games with the Iowa Cubs. During that stretch Alcántara slashed .236/.321/.394, and posted a 32.5 K% in 237 plate appearances. However, he got hot from June 18 through the end of the regular season, slashing .304/.383/.561, with 10 home runs in his last 45 games before he was added to the big-league roster in September.
Alcántara went 4-for-11, in limited playing time with the Cubs, appearing in 10 total games after his promotion.
(Previous Update)
For the second time this season Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Kevin Alcántara has been removed from a game at Triple-A, sparking trade speculation only to find out that there was in fact no hug watch with the Iowa Cubs. The hot-hitting prospect was taken out of Tuesday night’s game in the minors and unfortunately it’s because of an injury.
Alcántara has been on fire for the past few weeks, turning it on at the plate after a bad start to his 2025 season. From June 18 through July 6, the 22-year-old posted a 203 wRC+ with a slash line of .393/.460/.732, crushing four home runs and seven doubles in 15 games.
Now, the Cubs will have to monitor Alcántara’s leg injury, which he has apparently been dealing with for a while.
Maybe that’s the same leg issue that also led to an early removal from a game back in May. Regardless, it’s not great for Alcántara and certainly doesn’t help the Cubs in potential trade talks that may involve the young outfielder.
(Previous Update)
A few different directions we could go here, but speculation has been fueled on Thursday after the Cubs removed one of their top prospects from a game at Triple-A. Outfielder Kevin Alcántara, who hit a pair of home runs on Wednesday, was taken out of today’s game in the sixth inning as the Iowa Cubs were playing against the Columbus Clippers.
Alcántara, 22, was 1-for-2, with a walk and drove in two runs with a single in the fifth inning on Thursday. Iowa was up 8-1 to begin the bottom of the sixth inning, when veteran Greg Allen replaced Alcántara in left field.
Hug watch in May?
We know the Cubs could always beef up the pitching staff and really need help addressing the back end of their bullpen. Jed Hoyer recently acknowledged the fact that the team will have to add pitching at some point this season, but lowered any expectations of a major move happening soon.
Hoyer was on 670 The Score on Tuesday and said a big deal was still at least a month away from happening if not longer.
Entering the 2025 season Alcántara was ranked No. 5 in the loaded Cubs farm system by MLB Pipeline. Overall, the right-handed hitting outfielder is currently slotted at No. 74, in the top-100 prospects list.
It was another sluggish April for Alcántara to begin the 2025 season at Triple-A. He only had a 79 wRC+ through his first 23 games down at Iowa, but as the weather has gotten better so has Alcántara. Heading into Thursday’s game he was slashing .250/.333/.500, in his previous 63 plate appearances.
There hasn’t been an update on Alcántara yet, but if it’s not a trade, then you certainly hope he didn’t suffer an injury. Or is there the chance that the young prospect is coming up for a player who may have gotten banged up on the Cubs’ active roster?
Some fans have pointed to Seiya Suzuki’s mishap in Miami a few days ago, when he took a hard tumble down the dugout steps in a game against the Marlins.
Suzuki did finish that game, going 3-for-5, with a home run at the plate and was back in the starting lineup on Wednesday, though, so I’m not really sure that’s a concern. But maybe after a day off something could have flared up?
Was Alcántara removed because he wasn’t hustling on a play? Is he about to get traded? Is he coming up to fill in for an injured Cubs player or did he get injured himself?
You know, the Cubs were just in Miami, maybe Jed got some face time with the Marlins’ GM to talk business. Stay tuned?
