Canelo was released by the Orioles on Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Canelo was at least a fringe prospect several years ago as a member of the Phillies' system, as he had a strong glove that could lead to a big-league future if he could just manage to do anything at the plate. The bat has yet to come around, as he's posted a wRC+ above 90 at just one of his 14 career minor-league stops. That came down in Low-A all the way back in 2015, and he hit just .228/.286/.382 in 38 games at the two highest levels of the minors as a 26-year-old this year, so there's little reason to believe he'll ever make much of an impact in the majors.
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Orioles' Malquin Canelo: Returns to Orioles
Rotowire
Canelo signed a minor-league contract with the Orioles on Wednesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Canelo has yet to make his major-league debut and wasn't included in Baltimore's 60-man player pool in 2020. However, he'll likely get to compete at major-league spring training once again in 2021 after advancing to Triple-A in 2019. During that time, the 26-year-old slashed .261/.319/.347 with two home runs and 35 RBI over 129 games.
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Orioles' Malquin Canelo: Lands with Orioles
Rotowire
Canelo agreed to a minor-league contract with the Orioles on Tuesday, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Canelo had been in the Phillies' system for the entirety of his professional career. He reached Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the first time last season but continued to show very little with his bat, striking out 29.0 percent of the time while posting a .262/.320/.350 slash line (71 wRC+).
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Phillies' Malquin Canelo: Hits walkoff double
Rotowire
Canelo hit a walkoff double in his only plate appearance in Tuesday's Grapefruit League victory over the Cardinals.
Canelo is a fringe prospect, with a good glove and good speed but a weak bat. He's only once produced a wRC+ above 90 at any minor-league stop, and that came in Low-A back in 2015. He's stalled out at Double-A Reading the last two years, but if he ever does make it as a utility infielder, he'd at least provide some speed, as he stole 24 bags last season in 128 games.
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Phillies' Malquin Canelo: Hot start at Double-A
Rotowire
Canelo is off to a strong start at Double-A Reading through his first 20 games, hitting .286/.375/.481 with a pair of homers and a pair of steals.
The 23-year-old is a fringe prospect primarily because he can play shortstop fairly well. He's never really done much with the bat, hitting just .244/.304/.342 in his seven-year minor-league career. If he really has added something to his game, his chances of earning a big-league bench role would certainly increase. There are reasons to be skeptical, such as his .400 BABIP, but he's also showing more power than ever before, posting a .195 ISO.
