Owen

Caissie

The 23-year-old Caissie is the prize of the deal for the Marlins, and he’s obviously ready for a major league gig after hitting .281/.380/.507 with 41 homers in 982 plate appearances for Triple-A Iowa the last two years. Still, his upside is in question, especially given that he’s been striking out 28% of the time in the minors. If the Cubs were particularly high on him, they probably would have kept him and given him a shot in Kyle Tucker’s spot next season. Most likely, he’ll turn out to be a decent enough regular, but not a guy who goes to All-Star games. The Marlins will probably primarily roll with a Kyle Stowers-Jakob Marsee-Caissie outfield, with Griffin Conine more focused on first base and DH.

The deal is pending physicals. Caissie is the 47th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and a solid return for Miami in exchange for three years of Edward Cabrera. Despite being unable to break into the Cubs’ lineup in 2025, Caissie hit .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers in 99 games for Triple-A Iowa. He did miss time at the end of the season with a concussion, but Caissie pairs solid power with a consistently high walk rate, which helps to offset some of his strikeout concerns. The likely profiles best in right field and will join an exciting young outfield in Miami that also features Kyle Stowers in left field and Jakob Marsee in center field.

Mish also noted that the Yankees are still working with the Marlins on a deal for Cabrera as well, so nothing is imminent. The 27-year-old had a strong season last year, posting a 3.53 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 150/48 K/BB ratio over 137 2/3 innings in 26 starts. A big reason for his success was changing from primarily using a four-seam fastball, which he couldn’t command, to a sinker, which he could locate much better. There are some injury concerns with Cabrera, but his new pitch mix and strikeout upside position him as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter. Multiple reports have the Cubs sending OF prospect Owen Caissie to Miami as part of the deal, but nothing has been finalized.

Sharma and Mooney add that the Cubs are bracing for Kyle Tucker’s expected departure in free agency and are prepared to give top prospects Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros extended runway in the majors. Still, they’re not closing the door on a potential position-player addition. Chicago reportedly made a legitimate push for Bregman last spring before he ultimately landed in Boston. The 31-year-old defensive stalwart produced a robust .273/.360/.462 triple-slash line with 18 homers and 62 RBI across 114 games. His 44.4 percent hard-hit rate was the best of his career. The production, however, came in two distinct acts: Bregman hit .298 with 11 homers in 53 games before a serious quad injury, then managed just a .250 average and seven homers in 61 contests after the All-Star break. His arrival would squeeze former top prospect Matt Shaw off third base and into a likely multi-position utility role.

At this point, it feels like Kyle Tucker is a long shot to return to the Cubs, so the team will likely replace him by “reallocating resources to different parts of the roster.” Mooney suggests that Seiya Suzuki will play more right field, and the Cubs will use much of the extra money to bolster their rotation, which means young hitters Owen Caissie and Moisés Ballesteros will get a chance “to develop and improve at the major-league level.” As of now, Caissie, a top 100 prospect, appears to have the upper hand after putting together an .887 OPS in Triple-A over the last two seasons. He has more defensive value than Ballesteros, who is more of a DH right now than a 1B/C, but this may come down to a spring training battle between the two.

Caissie remains in concussion protocol and will undergo further evaluation after experiencing symptoms following a collision with the right-field wall during Saturday’s game against the Rays. The timing is unfortunate for the 23-year-old top prospect since he figured to have an everyday opportunity in right field for at least the next couple days until Kyle Tucker (calf) is ready to return from the injured list. It’ll be Willi Castro taking over in right field in the meantime.

The 23-year-old outfielder crashed into the outfield wall while making a catch in the third inning. Cubs’ skipper Craig Counsell noted that Caissie’s symptoms got worse as the game went on, which is why he was eventually removed before the Cubs took the field in the sixth inning. He’ll enter the concussion protocol and could soon find himself on the 7-day concussion injured list.

Moisés Ballesteros gets another turn at DH with fellow top prospect Owen Caissie patrolling right field in this one. Suzuki has missed two straight games due to an unspecified illness. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Sunday’s series finale.

Caissie returns to the big leagues prior to Saturday afternoon’s showdown against the Rays at Wrigley Field with fellow prospect Kevin Alcántara returning to the minors. The 23-year-old went 5-for-24 with one homer and four RBI across 11 games last month in his first taste of the majors. There’s enough talent here to matter in deeper formats, but a lack of steady at-bats likely caps his short-term fantasy impact. His re-emergence also suggests Kyle Tucker’s return from the injured list isn’t on the immediate horizon.

It’s a bit surprising to see Ballesteros get the nod over Owen Caissie to replace an injured Kyle Tucker (calf) on Chicago’s roster, but they’re apparently content to roll with Kevin Alcántara having an increased role for at least the next week. The 21-year-old backstop has put up some impressive numbers in the upper minors but he’s going to have a hard time carving out a full-time role with the Cubs due to his defensive limitations.