Chicago Cubs Demote Top Prospect, Other Stars in First Roster Cut

Some shocking moves were made by the Chicago Cubs in their first roster cuts of camp.

Entering the offseason, there was a thought that some of the Chicago Cubs' top prospects might crack the Opening Day roster in 2024 with so many on the verge of becoming Major League contributors.

Without the front office being able to land many of the high-profile players during free agency that they set out to do, it looked like they would be giving some opportunities to their youngsters.

However, according to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that is not the case after the Cubs made their first roster cuts.

She reports that their No. 1 overall prospect, Pete-Crow Armstrong, third-ranked pitcher Ben Brown, infielder Luis Vasquez, and outfielder Brennan Davis were optioned to Triple-A.

Pitchers Michael Arias and Porter Hoge were optioned to Double-A, along with Chicago's No. 6 overall prospect Kevin Alcantara.

In addition, pitchers Ethan Roberts and Riley Thompson, catcher Pablo Aliendo, No. 5 overall prospect Matt Shaw, and No. 3 overall prospect Owen Caissie were reassigned to their MiLB camp.

There are some big names in this announcement.

It was thought that Crow-Armstrong would have a real shot to win the starting center fielder role, even after the Cubs re-signed Cody Bellinger. But after the announcement that Mike Tauchman was already given a spot, that seemed more and more unlikely.

The front office has stated that they're going to do what is best for their top prospect's development, and they clearly feel like another stint at Triple-A will do that, especially after he struggled so much following his call-up.

Brown seemed on the verge of being part of the MLB roster, but did have some issues at Triple-A last year with a 5.33 ERA over 22 appearances and 15 starts.

Shaw was seen as a player who could factor into the third base role, especially because they're aren't a whole lot of great options there for Chicago currently.

What this does suggest, though, is that the Cubs feel like they can compete for a division title this season with largely the same roster that was in place throughout 2023.

It will be interesting to see who fills out the remainder of roster before Opening Day.