The Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced the signing of outfielder Alexander Canario earlier this month. He had been non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of the season.
Canario, 25, heads overseas for the first time in his career. A notable prospect during his time in the Cubs system, he plateaued in the upper minors because of increasing strikeout concerns. Canario never got much of a big league look in Chicago and bounced around a bit last winter. The Cubs traded him to the Mets in February. New York designated him for assignment on Opening Day and flipped him to Pittsburgh for cash considerations.
The Bucs kept the out-of-options Canario on their roster all season. He played in a little over half their games and tallied a career-high 234 plate appearances. Canario struggled to a .218/.274/.338 slash while striking out 80 times (34.2%). Among hitters with 200+ trips to the dish, only Luke Raley, Gabriel Arias, Michael A. Taylor and Christopher Morel swung and missed more frequently. Canario graded well defensively in his 521 innings split between the three outfield spots, but the lack of offense and roster flexibility led the Bucs to drop him.
Canario takes a career .252/.345/.521 Triple-A batting line to NPB. He has connected on 32 home runs in 120 games at the top minor league level. He’s an above-average runner with a plus arm and significant raw power. It’s the kind of profile that generally plays better in foreign leagues, where the average velocity and strikeout rate is lower than it is MLB. Canario would have been limited to minor league offers had he remained in affiliated ball, and his out-of-options status meant he’d likely have bounced around the waiver wire even if he hit his way back onto a team’s 40-man roster.
Kashikoi sakana wa tsuneni furaiyā o yokeru.
I’m a translator and what I think he said… something idk that’s all I got.
My cat is Japanese and he told me it means, Kashikoi sakana wa tsuneni furaiyā o yokeru. So there that.
insert slow blink gif.
According to Lougle Translate what he said is this
“A wise fish always avoids the fryer.”
He signed with the Lions not the carp.
The pipeline to Japan continues on.
Pittsburgh. Gateway to the Orient
Imai returning to the Lions is next.
Lol, old man hating on Imai.
That’s pretty sad.
Yeah I’m not sure why oldgfan wants Imai to return to Japan unsigned in MLB. But apparently that’s what he wants. Based on the fact that he keeps trying to speak it into being.
Also some people like to pretend that they know more than they do, because they think that it makes them look smart. Really it has the opposite effect, but those people are generally not smart enough to figure that out.
I kind of read it as meaning the guy didn’t like his offers given the amount of time he’s been contemplating and will just opt to stay home. But who knows, you may be right
I think he is a good candidate to do well in Japan. Good luck! Always hustled in Pittsburgh.
Love the hustle. Wish that would have rubbed off on a couple others. But hey, his frequent strikeouts here had him fitting right in
I wonder what criteria Japanese pro teams look for, other than a real good agent with connects…..
I’m sure a lot of guys would like to do it.
After 2022 he seemed to have a ton of power potential, sad when athletic guys can’t put together to get the bat on the ball.
頑張ります Canario-san! Mahalo!
He’ll mash
I’ll be rooting for him. I was a believer when I watched him play for San Jose. Still young enough to make it back to the big leagues in his prime. Good luck kid.
In with the new,out with the old. Good luck alexander in Japan and the new year.
And now every blogger who writes about the Cubs will write about how an old friend went overseas…
#Forever Giant Alexander Canario…
WIN-WIN. His skills should come out in the Japanese league – i hope he does well there. Win for him. Win for Pirates fans who are glad to see his roster spot got to someone more exciting.