The Chicago Cubs have sent their struggling top prospect back to the minors. Third baseman Matt Shaw was optioned down to Triple-A Iowa, the team announced Tuesday. Utility man Vidal Bruján was activated off the injured list in a corresponding move and will replace Shaw in the team’s position player group.
Shaw, 23, was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 draft, and CBS Sports ranked him as the 28th best prospect in baseball entering spring training. His first taste of the big leagues did not go well, however: .172/.294/.241 with 18 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances. Shaw did hit a home run, though his 82.7 mph average exit velocity is among the lowest in the sport.
As a player on the 40-man roster, Shaw’s free agency will be pushed back from the 2030-31 offseason to the 2031-32 offseason if he spends at least 20 days in the minors this season. That said, the demotion is not undeserved. His numbers speak for themselves. Here’s our write-up of Shaw entering 2025:
The short hook: Bat-first infielder with pop
Shaw could find himself on the Opening Day roster after a 35-game stint in Triple-A that saw him produce a .929 OPS. (Later, during the Premier12 tournament, he matched Ken Griffey Jr.’s Team USA single-game record by driving in seven runs.) Shaw routinely makes hard contact, even possessing enough power to drive out more than a handful of balls the other way. That feel for the barrel helps obscure that he has an appetite for elevated fastballs that can get him into some trouble. Shaw has auditioned at several infield positions; he’s certainly probably going to end up at second or third base, with the latter serving as the current favorite given Isaac Paredes‘ inclusion in the Kyle Tucker trade. MLB ETA: Spring 2025
It is a bit surprising the Cubs pulled the plug so quickly on Shaw, who started 16 of Chicago’s 19 games at third base. Veteran Justin Turner started at third base this past Saturday, though at this point in his career, he’s a first baseman and DH. Turner can man the hot corner once in a while but no longer on a regular basis.
Most likely, the Cubs will lean on veteran utility man Jon Berti and Rule 5 Draft pick Gage Workman at the hot corner. Workman is 2 for 9 with five strikeouts to start the year, and both hits came off position player pitcher Miguel Rojas this past weekend. Berti is 5 for 18 (.278) and has played second base, third base, and right field in the early going this season.
In other moves, the Cubs also placed righty Eli Morgan on the 15-day injured list with an elbow impingement and optioned righty Nate Pearson to Triple-A. Righty Daniel Palencia and lefty Luke Little were called up to fill the two bullpen spots. The Cubs did not provide a timetable for Morgan’s recovery. He left Monday’s game with the trainer.
The Cubs sit atop the NL Central at 11-8 (-125 to win the division, per DraftKings). Their plus-37 run differential is the best in baseball. Shaw hit .298/.379/.488 with seven home runs in 35 Triple-A games last season.
