Chicago Cubs recall prospect following Ian Happ injury, possibly revealing trade deadline plans

Later in the evening, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers broke the news that Chicago would be calling up catcher/first baseman/designated hitter and no. 2 prospect Moises Ballesteros from Triple-A Iowa:

“Looks like the Happ injury might require an IL stint. The team is calling up Moises Ballesteros from Triple-A, per a source. He’s hitting .331 down there. He had a cup of coffee with the big league team earlier this year.”

The story behind this story, though, is in who was NOT brought up.

Owen Caissie kept in Iowa ahead of trade rumors

The Cubs’ top prospect Owen Caissie, a corner outfielder at the Triple-A level who’s been on a red-hot run at the plate recently, would’ve seemed like the logical call-up for an injured Happ. However, he didn’t get the trip North because, most likely, the plan is to trade him. At least that’s what this latest roster move would seem to indicate.

With less than two full days before the July 31 trade deadline, the thought is that Caissie is being kept a minor league hot property in anticipation of using him to acquire a much-needed starting pitcher to aid a battered and strained Cubs rotation.

The 23-year-old Caissie has hit 9 home runs in his last 17 games for the Iowa Cubs and is batting a combined .324 in the months of June and July. In total, he’s hitting .278 with 20 home runs and 46 RBIs on the year.

Rumors have the Cubs front office unwilling to trade him for a rental player, but more than willing to entertain offers for the left-handed slugger in a deal involving a high-end starting pitcher with years of team control.

Two of the most well-traveled rumors have Caissie packaged in deals for the Miami Marlins’ Edward Cabrera or the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Mitch Keller, although the Cubs have been linked to multiple other trade targets.

More plans?

It’s also worth noting, by the way, that the Cubs’ second-highest rated outfield prospect, Kevin Alcantara, was similarly snubbed in Tuesday’s call-up. The 23-year-old Alcantara is ranked no. 4 in the Cubs farm system and has also been the subject of trade rumors leading up to the Thursday afternoon trade deadline.

The third thing that could be inferred from the Cubs’ latest roster move is that the 21-year-old Ballesteros is probably not on the trading block.

The left-handed hitting Ballesteros was called up earlier in the season, seeing action in five mid-May games and getting 2 hits in 16 at bats. Although the numbers were not good, many were impressed by his poise at the plate and the maturity he showed against big league pitching. He’s been raking in Iowa, though, with a .331 batting average in 85 games.

The Cubs will likely play Seiya Suzuki in left field for Happ while having Ballesteros and Justin Turner platoon at DH, unless some other position player is acquired by Thursday.