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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 28: Kevin Alcantara #13 of the Chicago Cubs singles against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field on September 28, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Cubs (29-22) are currently taking on the Houston Astros in a three-game weekend set at Wrigley Field. The Astros defeated the Cubs 4-2 in the first game of the series, which is likely to prompt a roster shake-up, as manager Craig Counsell indicated there will be changes to the Cubs lineup.

Last night, Cubs reporters indicated that top prospect Kevin Alcantara would be getting recalled for Saturday’s game against the Astros, and Alcantara was even seen walking into Wrigley Field Saturday morning.

Well, MLB’s transaction logs finally reflect that roster move, as the Cubs are recalling Kevin Alcantara from Triple-A Iowa and designating Nicky Lopez for assignment.

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Cubs Recalling Kevin Alcantara, DFA Nicky Lopez

GettyCHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 28: Kevin Alcantara #13 of the Chicago Cubs celebrates after scoring on a Moises Ballesteros (not pictured) single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field on September 28, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Getty Images)

Kevin Alcantara’s Triple-A numbers have become simply undeniable to this point.

@JesseRogersESPN writes: “Cubs DFA Nicky Lopez to make room for OF Kevin Alcantara who was recalled. Team is looking for an offensive spark.”

Alcantara has 15 home runs in Triple-A this season over 41 games, and is slugging .567 in over 150 at-bats. It’s not the first time Kevin Alcantara has been recalled, as the 23 y/o has seen brief MLB stints in both 2024 and 2025.

Kevin Alcantara is the fifth-ranked prospect in the Cubs’ farm system.

As for Nicky Lopez being DFA’d, he has only received five at-bats this season and did not record a hit. The defensive specialist is now in DFA limbo.

More on Kevin Alcantara’s Prospect Status

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Kevin Alcántara #13 of the Chicago Cubs in action against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on September 27, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

As noted, Kevin Alcantara has had two brief MLB stints thus far, but this call-up, paired with Matt Shaw’s injury, could be the time where ‘The Jaguar’ sees some extended time in MLB to see if his Triple-A numbers are a real indicator of how he can perform in the bigs.

Alcantara has just 21 MLB at-bats to his name and has recorded five hits (0 extra-base hits) in that span.

Here is part of his MLB.com prospect page bio that paints a good picture of what the Dominican Republic product can bring to the Cubs roster:

“Alcántara possesses a rare combination of size and athleticism, and while he’s slow out of the batter’s box, he features plus speed once he accelerates. He could become at least a 20/20 player if he looked to steal more bases and he covers wide swaths of ground in center field. He won’t play center with Pete Crow-Armstrong in Chicago, but his solid arm strength will make him an asset in right field.”

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