The Chicago Cubs have done a good job this offseason of filling holes and fortifying their roster in hopes of a deep postseason run.
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They added free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, traded for starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, and restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent acquisitions. Even the bench has been strengthened with the move of sophomore former third baseman Matt Shaw to a utility role.
The one remaining area of concern was outfield after losing right fielder Kyle Tucker and trading away top prospect Owen Caissie in the Cabrera deal. The outlook seemed to be Seiya Suzuki in right, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, Ian Happ in left and then question marks when it comes to backup.
Addressing the need for outfield backup
Jan 12, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talks to the media after introducing pitcher Shota Imanaga (not pictured) during a press conference at Loews Chicago Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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Last Season, Happ and Crow-Armstrong, especially, appeared to wilt towards the end of the season after the lack of viable outfield reserves forced them to play nearly every inning of every game.
This year, the fourth outfielder spot has taken a back seat to more pressing roster concerns. Dodgers castoff Justin Dean was picked up. There’s also talk of Shaw possibly playing some outfield. The hope from within the organization, though, seemed to be that the Cubs’ no. 4 prospect Kevin Alcantara could make the move to full-time big league duty and fill that fourth outfielder spot.
The toolsy 23-year-Alcantara, however, had seemed to hit a wall last year in Triple-A Iowa with one MLB analyst, at one point, observing that the young talent’s development had “stagnated.”
Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both seemed to agree, dropping Alcantara from their list of Top 100 prospects.
Kevin Alcantara get unexpected vote of confidence
Feb 20, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Kevin Alcantara against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Senior baseball analyst Keith Law, in a recent piece for The Athletic, appears to strongly disagree with the view of Alcantara as a downward-bound prospect. He ranks the native of the Dominican Republic at no. 41 on his Top 100 prospects list, ahead of MLB.com’s top 3 Cubs prospects Moises Ballesteros (no. 47 in Law’s rankings), Jaxon Wiggins (unranked by Law), and Jefferson Rojas (no. 79 according to Law).
Per Law:
“Alcantara’s first full season in Triple A went reasonably well, as he hit .266/.349/.470 despite playing through a sports hernia for a good chunk of the season, still showing flashes of that big power ceiling with a max exit velocity of 112.3 mph. He struck out 29.8 percent of the time, but did improve some of his swing decisions over the course of the year, swinging less often in the second half overall and cutting his chase rate by four points, so there was progress in spite of the injury. He’s still lanky and has a lot of room to fill out, with enormous power upside. Presently, he’s a plus runner and defender…He’s got the most upside of anyone in the Cubs’ system, with the potential for 30-plus homers with plenty of doubles, strong defense somewhere in the outfield, and enough other offense to make him a two-way star, but has more risk than most of the guys ahead of him on this list. He’s also reaching the point where he’ll have to take a big leap forward on offense. He’s going to require a fourth option year if the Cubs want to send him to Triple A, and MLB will probably grant it, but even so it means the clock is ticking on his development…”
Alcantara’s tough road to the majors
Feb 20, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Kevin Alcantara against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Law’s high praise for Alcantara isn’t going to translate to an easier path to the majors in 2026. If anything, recent movements by the Cubs show that the team is not overly enamored with the possibility of the rookie, who only has 22 plate appearances over two brief big league stints, being a bench asset in 2026.
Chicago recently signed outfielders Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick to minor league deals and issued them non-roster invitations to spring training. The pair of one-time top prospects will compete with Alcantara and Dean for the fourth outfielder spot on the roster.
It’s possible the Cubs feel that Alcantara has a higher ceiling than any of the other backup outfielder options and would like him to spend another year in Triple-A, where he can develop further and gain more experience as an everyday player. With Happ and Suzuki eligible for free agency at the end of the coming season, a fully-developed Alcantara would be a real plus for a Cubs team in desperate need of a corner outfielder.
Whatever the case, Law’s assessment of Alcantara proves that it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to his chances of becoming a valuable big league asset at some point soon.
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