Canada’s Owen Caissie makes big-league debut for Cubs against Blue Jays

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TORONTO — After a frenzied travel day, Canadian outfielder Owen Caissie made his big-league debut for the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Caissie caught a morning flight from Des Moines, Iowa, and arrived at the downtown stadium shortly before the start of the mid-afternoon interleague series finale.

The 23-year-old Caissie, from nearby Burlington, Ont., batted in the fifth spot as the designated hitter.

He swung at a first-pitch fastball from Max Scherzer in his first at-bat but was denied an extra-base hit when Davis Schneider made a diving catch in left field.

“I think offence is his calling card and he hits the ball extremely hard,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before the game. “I think he’s going to hit a lot of home runs someday. He’s not a home run hitter right now.

“I think he’s just a good hitter, a good all-around hitter, good plate discipline, hits the ball hard.”

Reports circulated late Wednesday that the Cubs’ top prospect would be called up for the series finale. The team confirmed shortly before the game that he’d been recalled from Triple-A, with catcher Miguel Amaya placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain.

Caissie hit .289 this season with 22 homers and 52 RBIs for the Iowa Cubs. He’s the 45th-ranked prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline.

Caissie was drafted with the 45th overall pick of the 2020 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres. He was traded to Chicago in the Yu Darvish deal in December 2020.

A No. 19 nameplate was installed at Caissie’s locker Thursday in the visitors’ dressing room. Two “Coffee Crisp” chocolate bars — a popular treat north of the border — were also at his stall.

Caissie had an RBI double and two walks at the MLB All-Star Futures Game last month. He has been particularly good at the Triple-A level in August, hitting .393 (11 for 28) with two homers and five RBIs.

“I don’t know that this is going to be a big role for Owen,” Counsell said. “But I think we’re kind of just looking at where we’re going in this schedule, and just being a little more flexible in terms of whether we need to get guys some rest, get the guys to get the innings off.”