Former top SF Giants outfield prospect suffers gruesome injury

I should start by saying that I am not going to post a picture of the injury. It is always tough to watch, especially in the case of a young player. Former SF Giants outfield prospect Alexander Canario suffered a gruesome injury after colliding with a first baseman during a game in the Dominican Winter League.

Former top SF Giants outfield prospect suffers gruesome injury

According to Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital, Canario sustained an ankle fracture as well as a dislocated left shoulder. Unfortunately, the left shoulder injury is similar to the one he sustained in Instructional League in 2020.

There is no timetable for his return but he is expected to miss significant time that will likely include the beginning of the 2023 season.

It is an unfortunate event for one of the Chicago Cubs' top prospects. The Giants originally signed the 22-year-old during the 2016 - 2017 J2 international signing period for a $60,000 signing bonus. Since then, Canario has emerged as one of the better outfield prospects in baseball and currently ranks as the Cubs' No. 10 prospect according to Baseball America.

The Giants shipped Canario to the Cubs along with pitching prospect Caleb Kilian in exchange for power bat Kris Bryant at the 2021 trade deadline. This was a tough move for the Giants to make, but one that made sense given that they were trying to maintain a lead in the NL West against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The right-handed bat had a monster season in the minors this year as he slashed .252/.343/.556 with 37 home runs, 97 RBI, and 84 runs in 534 plate appearances. This included an 11.0 percent walk rate against a 27.5 percent strikeout rate. Canario began the season in High-A but reached Triple-A by the end of the year.

With Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League, Canario tallied five hits, including one homer and two doubles, in 24 at-bats. It looked like he was poised to make some noise in spring training when the season ended, but the injury delay that.

The outfield prospect was added to the 40-man roster in 2020 and has burned two minor-league options at this point. Canario has one minor league option remaining, so the Cubs will be motivated to see what he can do against major league pitching once he is healthy again.