Owen Caissie ‘Popular Name’ in GM Meetings Trade Buzz

This is a topic that could have a lot of folks freaking out to some degree, but you have to take it in proper context. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Wednesday that Owen Caissie, the Cubs’ No. 2 ranked prospect, “is a popular name in early-stage trade buzz at the GM Meetings.” Unless it’s a matter of Jed Hoyer running around and pitching Caissie in return for other clubs’ top young catchers, which he’s not, this is simply a matter of teams checking in on the availability of a young hitter whose path to Wrigley Field just got a little narrower.

Cody Bellinger opting into the second year of his deal gives the Cubs five strong outfielders, pending the team’s decision on whether to tender Mike Tauchman a contract. Even if they do let Tauchman walk, which I don’t think they should, Caissie isn’t coming up to be the fourth outfielder. His promotion is more likely to come either as the result of someone being traded or injured, though the latter scenario assumes he’ll start the season back at Triple-A Iowa.

Despite the fact that he hit well last year and many fans want to see him in Chicago, a little more seasoning in the minors isn’t the worst thing for him. The bigger issue is that the club prioritizing a strong presence behind the plate to pair with Miguel Amaya means Moises Ballesteros has a very narrow path to the bigs as well. Ditto for Matt Shaw and James Triantos, especially if Nico Hoerner is healthy enough to play in the early going. Then there’s Kevin Alcantara, who was the first of this group to debut because he was already on the 40-man roster.

Caissie has to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so of course other clubs are going to be asking about him. I imagine the conversations going something like this:

Hey, Jed, we can take that kid off your hands and save you the hassle of a roster move.

Oh yeah, sure, I guess it does make sense to part with one of our top prospects just to avoid having to trim the roster. But since that’s the motivation here, I suppose I’ll have to take only younger prospects in return. Because, you know, getting back an MLB player would mean still having to make a corresponding roster move.

Drat, foiled again! I’ll get you one of these days, Jedward!

It’s been my opinion for quite some time now that the Cubs are more bullish on Caissie than Alcántara, but that the latter’s measurables might allow them to get the same trade value as they would for the former. Perhaps other baseball execs share those same thoughts, hence asking about Caissie. Or maybe I’m dead wrong and they feel as though the Cubs have made Alcántara untouchable. Highly doubtful.

And hell, this could have just come from Moroso overhearing a conversation between Hoyer and Mariners POBO Jerry DiPoto in which Hoyer asked what it would take to land catcher Cal Raleigh. I obviously don’t know what the two talked about the other day in San Antonio, though it’s not much of a stretch to hypothesize about a conversation taking place to that effect. In the end, it’s just a matter of teams asking about a top prospect who they perceive as being available and possibly even expendable.

Neither appears to be the case, at least not when it comes to the Cubs actively shopping players. No Cubs prospects are truly untouchable, but it’s going to take a very big return to get them to part with any of their top six guys.