Alexander Canario Injury Update: Good?

You know who was really damn good in 2022? Alexander Canario. The young outfield prospect began the minor league season playing with the South Bend Cubs at A-Ball and he ended the year destroying baseballs for the Iowa Cubs in Triple-A. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old suffered a catastrophic incident playing for the Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League in the final week of October.

Canario not only fractured an ankle that required surgery, he needed a second surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder as well after he rolled his ankle and slammed down hard on the ground running to first base on Oct. 27. The Cubs already ruled Canario out for the start of the 2023 season back in November, but if you're looking for any bit of a good update here's a picture from a couple days ago.

Who knows, maybe he took off the sling for the photo, or if you want to be optimistic, look at that, no more sling on his shoulder!

But even the most optimistic fans can't overlook that the serious injury is to Canario's left ankle. He won't be close to the field next spring as the original news of his injury did not specify a recovery timeline other than Canario being ruled out for the start of the season. At this point, the Cubs will be happy to see Canario back in action by May?

This really sucked.

I mean, after his monster 2022 season, there was a good chance that Canario would have made his MLB debut with the Cubs some time in 2023. Or I guess if you want to think about the team overall, maybe Canario would have been included in a big trade this offseason. But after the nasty injury those possibilities, the trade one of course, and his possible major league debut are now questionable. Who knows how Canario will respond from the injuries and hopefully he comes back without any complications.

The Cubs acquired Canario from the San Francisco Giants in 2021, getting him for Kris Bryant. Canario didn't light up the world at South Bend to end 2021, but the following year was incredible.

Here's how Canario did at each level in the minors during the 2022 season.

South Bend, A-Ball: 24 games, .281/.360/.584, 7 home runs
Tennessee: Double-A: 81 games, .248/.329/.552, 24 home runs
Iowa: Triple-A: 20 games, .231/.386/.538, 6 home runs

Sure, the batting averages don't look special, but Canario was getting better throughout the season and the power was insane to go along with speed on the bases. In his last 75 games, Canario hit .264 with 25 home runs, while also stealing 19 bases and only getting caught twice. He also walked 13% of the time during that time period.

Overall, Canario posted an .899 OPS with 37 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 2022. Just some eye-popping numbers from Canario and man I hope he doesn't have any setbacks because the power looked very real.

Home run power to right field, too.

Let's all hope for a speedy recovery.