With Alexander Canario Officially Out of the Picture, Outfield Depth Becomes Even Bigger Need for Cubs

To make room for new signee Justin Turner, the Cubs designated Alexander Canario for assignment Thursday morning. That was an increasingly likely possibility with each passing move to overhaul Chicago's bench this winter, and we're now up to five such moves:

• Carson Kelly signed on as the complementary catcher, via free agency
• The team selected Gage Workman in the Rule 5 Draft in December
• In a trade with the Marlins, the Cubs jettisoned first baseman Matt Mervis and brought in utility man Vidal Bruján
• Last month, the club signed infielder Jon Berti
• This week, they signed Turner

That left no room for Canario, just as there was no room for Nick Madrigal, Mike Tauchman, Miles Mastrobuoni, and Patrick Wisdom, all of whom the team let go for free this offseason. They might yet trade Canario for a nominal return, but he's essentially gone for nothing, too. Last year's bench was atrocious, and they were exposed when injuries poked holes in an otherwise solid lineup. The front office believes the veterans they've brought in substantially raise the floor for the team by giving them much better depth.

Since Canario was out of minor-league options, he would have eventually met this fate, unless he had such an outstanding spring as to force his way onto the 26-man roster. Doing this now opens more reps in center field for the likes of Bruján, Berti, and Workman throughout Cactus League play, but in truth, none of those three are likely to play a lot of center for this team, even if they look decent when given their chance in exhibition games.

Should Pete Crow-Armstrong get hurt, the team will turn to Kevin Alcántara, who will otherwise wait at Triple-A Iowa. Shy of that, though, there's no one on the roster to whom Craig Counsell is likely to be comfortable falling back. Bruján is leading off and playing center field in the first game of the spring season Thursday, as the Cubs try to assess his viability as a backup to Crow-Armstrong. However, it still feels like making this move early signals that the Cubs have their eye on a final bench upgrade. They might yet nab a backup center-field option, ideally someone available either on a minor-league deal or with options left.

That could be Manuel Margot, whose season with the Twins in 2024 saw him not only struggle as a pinch-hitter but play relatively little center field. He's typically a defense-first player, so that was a jarring turn in his career, but he would still have utility as a Crow-Armstrong alternative in the small center field at Wrigley Field. He's probably gettable as a non-roster invitee, at this stage. It could also mean a trade, for someone like the Guardians' Tyler Freeman or the Rays' Jake Mangum. A low-grade, optionable, center field-capable project makes a world of sense now, unless and until one of Bruján, Workman or Berti shows more feel than expected in the pasture. 

Now that Turner, Berti and Kelly are locked into the roster, Workman is imperiled. If he doesn't show facility in center, he's likely to be offered back to the Tigers in favor of someone who does. The squeeze at the end of the Cubs roster is on, although it won't fully tighten until the end of camp, since they can take 14 position players (or more, since it's only two games and they have many more optionable pitchers) to Tokyo for the season-opening series against the Dodgers, for which they get to use a 28-man roster. Canario is the latest casualty, but he won't be the last.