Top Prospect’s Return Could Force Cubs to Admit Mistake on Major Offseason Move

A top prospect appears ready to return, but it could force the Chicago Cubs to admit a mistake. 

In late December, Chicago acquired utilityman Vidal Bruján from the Miami Marlins in exchange for first baseman Matt Mervis and cash considerations, which in and of itself was not a questionable move. The Cubs were in need of quality bench players, and Bruján would give them a versatile switch-hitter who last season for Miami logged innings at shortstop, second base, third base, first base, center field, right field and left field, and he even pitched on two occasions. 

The problem is that the 27-year-old Bruján, who played parts of three seasons with Tampa before his single season with the Marlins, came to Chicago without any minor-league options remaining. So if the Cubs wanted to send Bruján to the minors, he would need to be designated for assignment and made available to all other MLB clubs on the waiver wire, which could mean losing Bruján and basically giving Mervis – and the cash – away for nothing. 

And with Matt Shaw on the verge of earning his way back to Wrigley Field, that very scenario could soon happen. 

Matt Shaw Could be Recalled to Chicago After Hitting .277 With Triple-A Iowa

GettyChicago Cubs prospect Matt Shaw, who is hitting .277 at Triple-A Iowa, could soon be back at Wrigley Field.

Shaw, Chicago’s first-round pick (13th overall) in 2023, earned the starting spot at third base for the Cubs out of spring training. But he struggled through his first 18 games, batting .172 with 18 strikeouts through 58 at bats, and was sent to Triple-A Iowa on April 15 to find his offense and regain his confidence. 

“We want to get a productive player back,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said at the time. “Sometimes you have to take a step back to do that. At this level, it’s production, where we are at. You obviously give guys time to work through it, but we just thought we saw enough, where we needed to take a break from this level, and get some at-bats in Triple-A.” 

Shaw’s struggles initially continued following the demotion, as he went 1-for-17 in his first five games with Iowa. 

“When he came back, the confidence was down a little bit,” Iowa’s co-hitting coach Rick Strickland said. “Of course it should be. He’s struggling, right?” 

Promoting Matt Shaw From Triple-A Could Spur Loss of Vidal Bruján

GettyChicago may be forced to DFA utilityman Vidal Bruján if Matt Shaw is recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

But Shaw, Chicago’s No. 1 prospect, was determined to get himself back on track. 

“I didn’t think coming back here would be much of a problem,” Strickland said. “He is a hitter…It’s just something that he naturally does. So getting him back here a little bit allowed him enough time to catch his break and get it back together. I would say nothing special as far as mechanical tricks or things we did. It’s really probably just getting that mental reset more than anything.” 

Starting on April 26, Shaw went 12-for-22 with five walks over a six-game stretch. 

“He’s ready,” Strickland said. “He’s ready to go back.” 

But are the Cubs ready to potentially lose Bruján? 

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