Why the Cubs Dropped Owen Caissie in Surprising Rookie Swap Despite Hot MLB Start

Owen Caissie couldn’t have asked for a bigger stage to step into the majors when he debuted in Toronto on August 14, 2025. And he took no time to impress, going 3-for-6 with his first career home run and four RBIs, as the Cubs swept the doubleheader with 6-4 and 4-1 wins.  But following that, Caissie quickly found his footing as he went 5-for-24, slashing .208/.240/.375 with nine strikeouts in his 11 games he played for the Cubs.

In his last six games, he slumped to 1-for-10 with five strikeouts, and he didn’t even start a single game in the final series of the road trip. Then came the news that the Cubs were sending their top prospect back to the minors.

The Wrigley Wire quickly provided the inside scoop on the decision on X. It read: “Kevin Alcántara is joining the Cubs with Owen Caissie optioned to Triple-A. A big reason is Alcántara’s defensive versatility and his ability to hit lefties. He’s played 20+ games at all three OF spots and is slashing .319/.398/.604 (1.002 OPS) vs LHP in 2025.”

But Kevin Alcantara isn’t just effective against southpaws; he’s good across the board. He had a slashline of .266/.349/.470 with 17 home runs over 430 plate appearances this season in AAA. And here one has to notice Caissie’s numbers in minors. It was decent too, with a slash line of .289/.389/.566 (.955 OPS) with 22 home runs and 52 RBI.

However, the performance against the lefties is the main difference maker. Caissie has a slash line of 0.214/0.278/0.334 with only 14 homers in his 589 at-bats. That’s too few of a production Cubs can get from Alacantra.

The rest of Chicago’s outfield

CF Pete Crow-Armstrong has found lefties to be his kryptonite, hitting just .189 with a .609 OPS. Ian Happ, from the right side, posted a .212 average and a .627 OPS. Kyle Tucker’s .264 with an .811 OPS was decent but not elite. Add it all up, and you see that the Cubs had one reliable right-handed bat against lefties, and that is Seiya Suzuki, with a production of .259 and an OPS of .879.

But still, this wasn’t the first time the Cubs faced the Caissie-or-Alcántara question.  Last season, both put up nearly identical numbers in Iowa when Caissie slashed .278/.375/.473 over 127 games and Alcántara hit .292/.378/.469 in a shorter 35-game stint. But the Cubs gave Alcántara a brief chance in three games in their final month, where he went  1-for-10 with a single and a run scored.

Still, cracking the Cubs outfield loaded with  Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki is one of the toughest jobs in baseball. Beyond them, only utility guys like Willi Castro, Jon Berti, and Vidal Bruján have gotten a handful of games in the outfield. And Caissie managed seven outfield games in his 11-game tenure with all that hype. This leaves very little room for a young player to get consistent playing time, even with his elite skills.

And this recent swap wasn’t the only headline-grabbing decision the Cubs have made most recently. With a 78-58 record and the top NL Wild Card, the Cubs front office is all aggressive in signing veteran Carlos Santana and claiming pitcher Aaron Civale at the August deadline. But the question remains: Did Jed Hoyer just buy himself the perfect September weapon while protecting his other young slugger for 2026?