Cubs Complete Selloff, Trade Kris Bryant to Giants For Two Prospects

The Cubs championship core is officially no longer.

After trading Anthony Rizzo on Thursday and Javier Baez earlier Friday, the Cubs traded away the final cornerstone player from their 2016 World Series team when they sent Kris Bryant to the Giants minutes before the trade deadline. In return, the Cubs received prospects Caleb Kilian and Alexander Canario.

Bryant, a Las Vegas native who attended the University of San Diego, heads back west to try and help the Giants hold off the Dodgers and Padres in the National League West title race.

Canario ranked as the Giants No. 7 prospect and Kilian was their No. 17 prospect.

CUBS ACQUIRE

Alexander Canario, OF
Age: 21

Canario had surgery last fall to clean up a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He played through injury during the 2019 season, but a dislocation suffered while playing the outfield at instructional league necessitated the surgery. At his best, Canario was one of the brightest prospects in the Giants’ system, boasting raw power that rivals any of his talented teammates at Low-A San Jose. He worked hard to clean up his plate discipline and cut down on his swing and miss in order to unlock more of that power under the lights. He still has room to go and hit just .235/.325/.433 with nine home runs this year. He mostly needs to clean up some mechanical issues at the plate, including his hips flying open early and leaking to his pull side. Defensively, he has a chance to play center field but will most likely settle into a corner spot, where his power and plus arm will profile. 

Caleb Kilian, RHP
Age: 24

One of the Giants’ biggest success stories this year, Kilian carved up his competition with 96 strikeouts and just nine walks in 84.2 innings across the High-A and Double-A levels. He gets his outs with a variety of four-seam, two-seam and cut fastballs which he commands and controls to all sectors of the strike zone. He can run all of his fastballs into the mid 90s. He has improved his curveball and changeup as well, but none of his pitches ranks as a true standout. Instead, he succeeds moving the ball around the strike zone, changing eye levels and getting hitters to swing and miss over and over again with his variety of pitch movements.

GIANTS ACQUIRE

Kris Bryant, 3B/OF
Age: 29

Bryant returned to his all-star form this season after struggling for the only time in his career during the shortened 2020 season. Though he no longer racks up hardware like he did at the start of his career when he won the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2016 National League MVP Award, Bryant remains a well above-average hitter who has shown he’s capable of playing five different positions. He gives the Giants a big bat in the middle of their lineup and can play third base until Evan Longoria returns from his shoulder sprain or take over in left field, which has been a season-long hole for the Giants. He will be a free agent after the season.