Cubs make crucial roster moves involving top prospect

The Chicago Cubs made a slew of roster moves on Tuesday, including one to send top prospect Matt Shaw back to Triple-A Iowa.

Shaw, the 23-year-old third baseman that broke camp with the team, is the highest-ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system, according to MLB.com. He’s struggled at the plate in his first few weeks in the Majors, hitting just .172 with one home run in 18 games.

The rookie had a brief stint at Iowa last year, playing 35 games and hitting .290 in that time. There’s certainly no shame in being sent down at this point in your career, and Iowa now has each of the organization’s top six prospects on its roster.

Chicago reinstated second baseman and outfielder Vidal Brujan from the 10-day Injured List as a corresponding move. Brujan played just one game this year before injuring his elbow while running into the outfield wall, trying to make a play in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs acquired him last December in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

But, as is often the case in baseball, when one player returns, another goes on the shelf. Chicago placed relief pitcher Eli Morgan on the 15-day IL with a right elbow impingement. He had been pitching through elbow problems, but not to much success. He had a 12.27 ERA in seven appearances so far in 2025.

The Cubs will replace Morgan with 24-year-old Luke Little, who has pitched well in limited opportunities the last two years for the Big League club. He has a 2.76 ERA in 32.2 innings for the Cubs, spanning 2023 and 2024.

The team made one more move, sending struggling pitcher Nate Pearson to Triple-A in favor of Daniel Palencia. Like Morgan, Pearson was pitching to a double-digit ERA (10.38). He had also issued seven walks in only 8.2 innings pitched. Planecia is off to a strong start in Triple-A, giving up one earned run in four innings with seven strikeouts in Iowa.