With the Chicago Cubs officially out of postseason contention, the team no longer has any goals for this year.
Typically, when this happens, teams will call up some of their top prospects to give them a taste of the Major Leagues and evaluate their potential as the season wraps up.
Initially, the Cubs planned to take a different approach.
When asked about the possibility of promoting their standout minor leaguers, manager Craig Counsell stated there were no plans to do so, which raised some eyebrows.
However, they’ve now decided to change that stance.
The Cubs have promoted outfielder Kevin Alcantara to their Major League roster, moving Miles Mastrobuoni to the Arizona Complex League as a corresponding action.
Ranked No. 6 in their prospect pipeline, the 22-year-old has quickly moved up through the organization since being acquired at the 2021 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees.
This season, Alcantara posted a .278/.353/.428 batting line across Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 14 home runs, recording 35 extra-base hits, and driving in 61 runs.
He is seen as a key future piece for the Cubs’ outfield, despite competition from Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Cody Bellinger, who may opt into his player option this winter.
Chicago wasted no time putting him in the lineup for his debut, batting him ninth.
In his first at-bat, he saw one pitch before flying out to right field.
It remains to be seen how much Alcantara will contribute to the outfield rotation in the remaining games, but giving him his first Major League experience is a smart move now that the Cubs are out of playoff contention.
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