Featured photo of Alexander Canario by Rich Biesterfeld
That’s a wrap for week 2 of the Arizona Complex League and the Cubs played to a 2-3 record. The biggest news of the week undoubtedly was the return of outfielder Alexander Canario on a rehab assignment from the Iowa Cubs. In case you don’t recall, Canario fractured his left ankle and dislocated his left shoulder while playing in the Dominican Winter League this past offseason. He went 0-4 while serving as the DH in 2 games and reached base via a walk and a hit by pitch. The good news was that he appeared to be running freely when he reached base. He played on Thursday, got the day off on Friday, and then played again on Saturday.
Highlights from the week:
- Mason McGwire was the first Cubs starter to go 5 innings and get a win in the ACL this season. This early in the season, it’s somewhat unusual to see a starter go that deep. He scattered 3 hits while giving up 2 runs in the victory.
- Drew Gray, Dom Hambley and Scott Kobos combined to throw a 3 hit shutout. Drew and Scott are both coming back from surgery. (Drew had TJS and Scott had bone chips cleaned out of his elbow.) Dom spent some time with Myrtle Beach before being sent back to the ACL, so it was nice to see him have a strong bounceback outing with 4 shutout innings.
- Matt Peters made 2 appearances during the week for a total of 3 innings and has yet to give up any runs in the ACL. He’s continuing to refine his mechanics and gaining consistency in throwing strikes. When describing his progress, Matt said ‘things are trending in the right direction!’
- Miguel Fabrizio began the 2023 campaign in Myrtle Beach but was reassigned to the ACL on June 6th. He went 4-9 this week while playing a solid 1st base.
Comings and Goings:
There weren’t many roster transactions this week.
Additions to the roster: Alexander Canario, Leonel Espinoza, Jose Escobar
Departures from the roster: None
A Look Ahead:
A typical week in the ACL finds the Cubs playing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but this next week will be a little different. The team has games scheduled for Monday – Thursday, with Friday off, and then a night game on Saturday. In talking with one of the trainers, it sounds like Alexander Canario will start playing in back-to-back games this week and may return to the outfield either later this week, or the following week.