In late February, the New York Mets made a classic low-risk, high-reward move by trading for outfielder Alexander Canario, sending cash to the Chicago Cubs in return. It was a depth move, the kind that doesn’t make headlines but could quietly pay off down the road.
Canario initially struggled in spring training, but he quickly found his groove, finishing with a strong .306 batting average and an eye-catching 1.030 OPS. He crushed three homers and drove in eight runs, reminding everyone why he was once considered a promising young talent.
If baseball were purely a meritocracy, those numbers might have earned him a real shot at sticking around. But roster spots are a numbers game, and Canario finds himself on the outside looking in.
A Roster Crunch With No Easy Answer
The Mets’ outfield is already packed to the brim. With Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor, Jesse Winker, and Starling Marte all ahead of him on the depth chart, there’s simply no room for Canario. Even squeezing those six names onto the roster is a juggling act, so adding a seventh outfielder? That’s like trying to fit an extra suitcase into an already stuffed overhead bin—something’s got to give.
The biggest problem is that Canario is out of minor league options. If the Mets could stash him in Triple-A without consequence, they likely would. But that’s not how it works. The only way to remove him from the 40-man roster is to place him on waivers, making him available to all 29 other teams.
The Waiting Game
“Acquiring Alexander Canario in spring training was a smart move by the Mets as an option if an outfielder was injured or traded. Neither has happened,” wrote Mike Puma of the New York Post.
“Barring something in the next day, the Mets expect to expose him to waivers – he is out of options.”
If Canario clears waivers, he could land in Triple-A, where he’d be just one phone call away from Queens. But let’s be real—his combination of power, age, and potential makes it likely that another team takes a chance on him.
Now, all Canario and the Mets can do is wait. His fate will be decided soon, and given the way teams covet controllable young talent, he may not be a Met for much longer.