6:37pm: Pittsburgh announced the trade and transferred Jones to the 60-day IL. He’s early into a six-week shutdown after experiencing elbow soreness in Spring Training, so he won’t be ready for MLB game action until the latter half of June at the earliest.
5:42pm: The Mets are trading outfielder Alexander Canario to the Pirates for cash, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. New York had designated him for assignment as part of their Opening Day roster shuffle. Pittsburgh will need to make a 40-man roster move once the trade is finalized; Jared Jones stands out as a speculative candidate for a transfer to the 60-day injured list.
Canario was arguably the most interesting of the various players sent into DFA limbo amidst teams’ season-opening roster maneuvering. The 24-year-old outfielder has plus raw power and a generally strong minor league track record. He has bounced from the Cubs to the Mets and now to Pittsburgh because of concerns about his strikeout rates and his lack of roster flexibility.
Since Canario is out of options, teams need to keep him on the major league roster or expose him to waivers. That facilitated his move to the Mets in the first place, as the Cubs designated him for assignment and traded him to New York for cash in February. It wasn’t a great landing spot. The Mets already had Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor and Starling Marte essentially locked onto the MLB roster. Canario provided injury insurance during camp, and a potential fifth outfielder if the Mets lined up a late-offseason Marte trade.
Neither happened, and the Mets DFA Canario and another out-of-options outfielder, José Azocar, on Thursday. (Azocar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A over the weekend.) The righty-hitting Canario had an impressive spring. He hit .306 and connected on three homers in 17 games, but he also punched out in 15 of his 43 plate appearances. It’s the same three true outcomes profile that he has displayed throughout his minor league career. Canario drilled 18 homers with a robust 11.3% walk rate in only 64 Triple-A games in the Cubs’ system last offseason, but his 30.4% strikeout rate meant the Cubs weren’t willing to carry him on the MLB roster.
Canario owns a .252/.345/.521 line in parts of three Triple-A campaigns. He’s best suited in right field but can handle center in a pinch. Oneil Cruz is locked into everyday center field work. Bryan Reynolds moved to right field this year, while free agent signee Tommy Pham is playing left. Canario could take a few at-bats from Pham but profiles mostly as a bench bat for the time being.
Wonder if they made a profit on the deal.
I can’t see the Pirates outspending the Mets.
I say it because the Mets paid cash for Canario too. Wondering if they sold him for a higher amount than what they got him for. Or is it always a set amount on these cash deals?
We wouldn’t know for sure, but the Mets probably paid the Cubs more than the $50,000 that is received if a player is claimed on outright waivers.
The Pirates may have made an offer to the Cubs. I am guessing it was less than the Mets. It could have even been similar or even higher, but since the Bucs are in the same division, the Cubs sold the contract to the Mets.
Now the Mets have sold the contract to the Pirates. Again, it’s probably higher than the usual $50,000. It would make sense that the amount is lower than what the Mets paid since this is second time DFA’s in a short time period, but again we don’t know for sure.
Cash?. How’d they get that out of Nutting?
Petty Cash box. $20.
Are you kidding? Nutting gets millions from the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees and spends pennies on waiver P/U’s. Its his Modus Operandi. And on a New Boat.
Not a bad place or him to get some playing time. Love to see him hit 5HR’s against Hoyers bullpen. I need a good laugh.
Watch him rake with the Pirates. Hoyer should have used Canario as a trade chip when he had value and had the chance.
It’s a crowded outfield. His best shot will be LF, but Pham might slap him. Canario will have to bring a knife.
Depends on whether or not Pham likes the pole dance
Best spot is RF as this guy runs like Pham. Put Reynolds back in left. AAA probably best for him. Until he stops striking out he is worthless.
Out of options apparently so rf it is. But with Shelton it can be lf or even center
Bae still has options and is likely the player to go to Indy though I would see if they could include Sgelton in the deal.
4 hits, 10 more strikeouts and a paltry 1 run in last night’s game makes me wonder whether Shelton really wants to win.
He sat Cutch, who accounted for one of the runs in Sunday’s game with a homer.
To be a trade chip first you have to have a POBO who doesn’t keep paying for guys and giving them NTC’s in front of you. I’m not sure but I think Mentally Deficient Jed would have to give somebody more than like 10 AB’s if you want to build up some value. Just a thought on my part. I hope Mervis tears it up too.
No, dude. No one rakes with the Pirates. This is Baseball Siberia
And if Mervis DOES tear it up remember that MDJ traded Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope for Michael Busch who was out of options and launched Mervis. Just like he traded a potential 35-40 HR rookie 3B for one year of a guy to do the very same thing-PLUS tossed in 2 other guys to boot. Just to try and win the NL Central and I have serious doubts about that. This bullpen better figure things out sooner rather than later.
I’m having a Bryan LaHair flashback. Good times.
Groundskeepers?
Won’t even need a torpedo bat
Where does he play though? Just a bench bat, roster is tight. He looks intriguing though.
He can take Bae’s spot, Bae is the worst player in the Majors.
Chris Davis? Oh wait.
Indy. If he learns to hit then RF. Reynolds back to left or 1b if he can.
Out of options
Herpes is better than Tyrone Taylor.
Herpes can catch fire and be unstoppable!
Herpes can catch fire and make you scratch a lot too. Or so I’ve heard!
That went south fast.
That’s what she said
Excellent pickup for the Bucs. He’ll plug right in and start immediately. Dude’s got serious pop.
Yeah. Now they only may lose 80 this year
At this rate they might lose 80 by the break.
I’d Indy if he has options. He hasn’t been around that long has he.
Out of options
It’s Bae going down because he’s awful. This guy is exponentially more valuable. You say he strikes out a lot, I say he had an .850 OPS and I’ll deal with the strikeouts.
Bae isn’t terrible, he’s misused just like Suwinski. Both underperformed last year just like a slew of other players that the Pirates put in the outfield. The Pirates solution was to get Pham. Both Bae and Suwinski probably surprised Pirates’ management with strong springs. Have they figured it out? So what do the Pirates do? Cherington keeps both up, Shelton puts them on the bench and starts Pham the majority of the games. The worst thing you can do to a young player coming off a strong spring. They need to play, not sit. Both Bae and Suwinski need to start regularly to see if they really have figured it out. One should have been sent down, while the other should be starting for the Pirates. If the one up falters, bring up the other. They need at bats, not bench time. Pham should be the fourth outfielder riding the pine.
Just another screw up by Cherington and Shelton. They truly know how to waste whatever talent the players have.
through 5 games they have already struck out 45 times and scored only 15 runs.
Strikeouts matter when you can’t score enough runs to win
He’s not terrible. He’s utility at best, and that’s only because of his speed. Too bad he has a manager who has no idea how to use him
While I agree wholeheartedly about kids wasting away on the bench when they should be playing on the farm, I don’t have nearly the optimism about Jack. I like the kid. I think he’s trying. But maybe a change of scenery would be best
Cue sad Giant fans who miss this guy.
He was traded for a former MVP during a playoff run, get over it!
Plus, Giants still have Luciano who is the superior prospect and has more power.
Luciano looks like a bust. Hasn’t hit a lick in the big leagues, bombed this spring, Career .240 hitter with a 28.1% K% in AAA. Good eye at the plate, but low contact rate and little power.
Neither Canario or Caleb Kilian have done much.
Honestly that was so long ago, that I hope Canario does finally get some run, and socks a few dingers. I’d be happy for him, and the Pirates.
Is he though at this point? Canario has had much more success in the upper minors. I hope it had something to do with the approach change they made marco take under fahran. This year will tell a lot
If he strikes out a lot, he’ll fit right in
too bad mets couldnt find a way to keep him
A+ and then some +++++
Guy you should be taking a chance on. Lots to not like but love. Perfect fit for PNC park RF. Just have to cut down the strike outs. A lot. Not easy task. Why no one else wanted him. But pirates have the roster space.
Really, what did they have to lose? No brainer.
Well worth a chance for a little money. Even Gallo was worth the strikeouts for a while.
For five years, as it turned out before flaming out early as most reflex players do.
Batted over .300 in spring training like a lot of our Pirates. Hope he didn’t leave his bat down there like them.
Many of us were hoping to get an OFer from the Mets but were thinking maybe Marte if they paid most of his salary.
Marte homered tonight. Respect!
First thing PIT needs to do is get him a set of those bowling pin bats, then announce that every night is fireworks night.
Yeah, except for the part about Marte being an OFer.
Another former Giants propect who will rake for Pittsburgh.
They’ll play a completely toasted Tommy Pham over him.
And they paid Pham more than $4m for the privilege.
Canario in a coal mine. Good for Pennsylvania.
And yet, they may only end up with what the little bird left on the rock.
They’re not just adding a bench guy—they’re betting his big swing can turn their lineup into a sleeper threat.
He may have a lot of power which the Pirates need but the only threat that he will provide is breaking last year’s record for strikeouts.
The Pirates generally start well but hopefully this start will soon get Shelton fired if Nutting gets out of his inertia and figures something out that most of us have known for at least two years.
It would not break the ML record though.
Eddie Sawyer with the 1960 Phillies lasted one game.
He said that he quit because he was 50 years old and that he wanted to live to be at least 51.
This move makes me wonder how little the Pirates knew of Horwitz injury before trading for him. I am starting to think the Pirates made the decision on Horwitz with impulsiveness. They really have the fans coming out to Federal Street with pitch forks and Horwitz was a desperation move. Now this Canario move for cash, is a desperate attempt to find “lightning in a bottle” that they hoped Horwitz would be.
Not many were keen on Brian Giles when the Pirates got him from Cleveland 35 years ago. Canario has similar profile and Giles was a late bloomer surprise. Giles spent 10 years in the minors before making his impact in Pittsburgh. Only two differences between the two are age and Giles struck out half of Canario does while in the minors. This new era “hit as hard as you can and swing for the fences”, does play apart in his hitting approach. I just wish they would go back to making contact and then figure out the power. Kid has plenty of power and no one can deny that. But his near 600 Ks in 7 seasons in the minors, has red flags all over the place.
Looks like Bae will be going back to AAA.
just what the Pirates need, another player who strikes out a lot
Bad decision by Stearns. Canario showed enough —especially compared to the injury prone and end-of-career Marte — that he needed to make room on the 26 man roster.
To protect Marte, a player who has no future promise and lose a talented 25 year old with upside, shows why the Mets are still behind the Dodgers
Particularly with an old lineup, with Alvarez and McNeil already out, and Nimmo one tweak away from a month on the IL, gambling that Canario does at least as well as Marte’s projected 0.3 fWAR for 2025 was a fairly easy gamble to take.
That Canario’s also a pretty good corner OFer given Nimmo’s issues, and that Marte should never again play the field only adds to his argument.
This was a gamble Stearns should have taken without much thought.
In fairness to Stearns, this isn’t why the Mets are behind the Dodgers. That’s primarily the consequence of two decades of Wilpon incompetence followed by Cohen failing to hire a halfway decent GM his first three years and playing GM—badly—until Stearns arrived.
Taylor plays an excellent CF, so does Siri. You don’t need mashers 1-9. You need some actual defense out there, especially with Soto in RF and Nimmo in LF. Taylor is fine.