The Cubs will replace one outfield prospect for another on Monday, as ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that Kevin Alcantara will be called up from Triple-A Iowa and Owen Caissie is being sent back to Triple-A. No further transaction is needed since Alcantara is already on the 40-man roster.
Alcantara made his Major League debut last September, appearing in three games for the Cubs right at the very end of the 2024 season and getting one hit in 10 plate appearances. This remains Alcantara’s only big league exposure, as he has spent the entirety of the 2025 campaign in Iowa. After hitting well in 35 Triple-A games in 2024, Alcantara has kept it going this year, with a .266/.349/.470 slash line and 17 home runs over 430 plate appearances this season.
A regular on top-100 prospect lists for a few years now, Alcantara was 71st on Baseball America’s preseason ranking and 90th on MLB Pipeline’s list. Despite his solid numbers this year, Alcantara actually dropped out of both outlets’ midseason top-100 updates, though both BA and Pipeline each still have the outfielder ranked fifth within the deep Chicago farm system. The biggest red flag is his 29.8% strikeout rate at Triple-A, as his power potential and hard contact ability is mitigated by the large amount of swing-and-miss in his game, and evaluators also note that Alcantara is only really productive against fastballs.
It seems likely that Alcantara would’ve received a longer look in the majors by now if he wasn’t on a team so deep in outfielders. Between Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki (as a part-time OF and regular DH) all staying healthy and productive, only four other players have received any time in the Wrigleyville outfield during the 2025 season. Utility players Willi Castro, Jon Berti, and Vidal Brujan each got a handful of games in the outfield, and Caissie made seven appearances on the grass during the 11 overall games of his first Major League call-up.
Caissie received 25 PA, and hit .208/.240/.375 while starting six of his 11 games. The lack of playing time wasn’t a surprise given the crowded nature of Chicago’s outfield, yet the rather quick demotion adds to the question about why exactly Caissie was even called up in the first place. Alcantara brings more defensive versatility since he can play center field, whereas Caissie is a corner outfielder.
Using top prospects as bench depth isn’t exactly ideal, though the Cubs are somewhat stuck (if that’s the correct term) between their twin desires of having their minor leaguers play every day, and also having the best active roster possible. As limited as these cameos have been, giving Alcantara or Caissie some experience in the big leagues could be beneficial in advance of their possible inclusion on a playoff roster, or if an injury did arise to one of the Cubs’ outfield regulars.
All about PCA’s slumps and ability to play CF.
He also never sits/gets rest, could use a few days to rest the body and mind before the playoffs.
Slumps? No one knows where his talent level really sits. Probly somewhere between the first half and the last couple of months.
Yes, PCA slumps. But also, yes, I agree with you, somewhere well between the first have and last couple of months. His defense, speed and high strike-out rate are all real. So is the power. This summer, he needs to hire an additional batting instructor as a consultant.
I just mean that it’s hard to judge his floor after that unrealistically huge first half. Maybe where he’s at is not so much of a slump as it may actually be where his performance level sits. Next year will tell the tale.
PCA’s OPS vs. LHP is .605 with a .218 OBP. So it’s not about any slump but rather an inability to hit LHP.
Open question to commenters who geek out tracking the various stats: Does Caissie’s .208 avg require some contextualizing? He didn’t get many at bats, so a few extra hits can be the difference between an unfortunate BA and a respectable one. I recall in Caissie’s first at-bat he was robbed by a great catch in left field. I recall one, maybe two other instances of him being outright robbed. Plus, it seemed like he was smacking the ball pretty good, and going opposite field an impressive number of times.
Are there available stats that back up my impression, that Caissie was a bit better than .208, and kind of unlucky to run into some amazing defensive plays and hitting the ball hard but right at outfielders?
No matter what the stats say, I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next year, especially if the Cubs don’t re-sign Tucker, or the year after, when Happ is eligible for free agency.
By the eye test he definitely was. Haven’t looked but would imagine hard hit %, barrels, etc. were all better to gauge. As you said in such. Small sample size BA is one of the least predictive tools. Problem is more as the writer noted, really hard to get him playing time at OF/DH.
I hate to say it’s a possibility, but in my opinion Caissie was brought up to light a fire under Tucker. I know that makes no sense on some level since CHC knew Tucker’s hand was the problem. As most stated at the time, Caissie wasn’t gonna see much action, and he didn’t.
Alcantara has been a bust for a couple years now and it seems that the rankers are just now realizing it.
This comment is a bust because ten 2024 plate appearances doesn’t mean he’s bad
You legitimately have no clue what you are talking about “bust” he’s had 10 plate appearances at the big league level and just turned 23 a month and half back. He’s consistently solid and at times elite production at each level of the minors the chase rate has been concerning at times but he’s improved on it as of late. But as usual somebody on the internet has to talk out of there behind for no reason
So why did you reply?
Is palencia as an excuse for poor performances lately going to put him on disabled list with some phantom arm injury to save face on giving him closer role as an unproven closer.
From the West coast, so not sure, but always wondered why some call it “Chicagoland.” ?? Is it just a reference to its vast suburbs or something ?
It’s pretty easy to cross the border from Chicago into one of the various suburbs and not realize it. It can feel like one giant interconnected city. Plus, there’s still some unincorporated areas smack dab in the middle of true-Chicago, like Harwood Heights. So, you’re on the right track. Chicagoland is a recognition of the sprawl.
So just asking, Does anybody have a clue what Gollum is doing? I mean he confuses me on a day to day basis but can anyone else see a purpose here?
You save Caissie’s rookie eligibility and give PCA a RH hitting complement.
Alcantara should have been the call all along.
If the point of bringing them up is exposure so they have a list of things to work on this off-season, fine, but in that case, Caissie should’ve gotten in at least a couple more games and stayed another week before being swapped for Alcantara. If that’s not the intent, I don’t know what the Cubs are doing.
Starting to think Caissie was only a decoy to try to push Tucker and/or Happ and/or Suzuki out of their offensive slumps.
It looked like PCA injured his shoulder after running into the wall. Could be the reason for Alcantara over Caissie?
I dont understand why the cubs didn’t pick up Rizzo instead of Santana. It would have been a morale boost for sure. Cmon Jed. think
Writers on this site keep saying Happ is productive, what has he done for this team in the 8-9 yrs he’s been around ? Nothing, a former 1st rd pick who doesn’t hit consistently at all,let the young players play. He’s a choker.
It is a holiday Hanley. Take the day off. I recall your White Sox selecting Carson Fulmer right BEFORE Happ.
More than a consistent player and multiple gold glove guy.
Troll away….tomorrow.
I’m not a WS fan, I believe you also cheered on David Bote, Patrick Wisdom . LOL
This team has to find a 4th of good enough to plug and play for pca. His 2nd half struggles are exhaustion based. Give the kid a break. This needed to happen months ago.
Kind of surprised by all the confusion- even in the original blog post- about the call-ups of Caissie and Alcantara. Caissie plays left and right field and for power, which made him a nice sub for Tucker (who was maybe still injured at the time but definitely needing a rest from that injury stretch) and Happ (who was struggling). It gave Counsell some flexibility in giving his outfielders/DH some days off. But Tucker is healthy *and* hitting again, but PCA- who has shown some signs of coming out the other side- is gonna need some rest just by way of rookie exhaustion- and Alcantara can play center field to relieve him. That’s what I think the elevation of both rookies was for. That it would also give the coaching staff an opportunity to see both players against big league pitching and the added experience that accrues with that challenge, that was just a happy byproduct of the actual role they were intended to fill.
Cubs fans going to send me some hate, but both those guys look like 200 K+ guys.
Cubs fans,is there any chance of the Cubs trading Caissie this off season,and,if so,what would a team like the Pirates have to give up?