On Thursday, as spring training continues, the team announced a slew of moves they made along their roster.

“The Chicago Cubs today reduced the spring training roster from 53 to 46 players,” the team reported on X, formerly Twitter, before going into specifics on the transactions.

“Outfielder Justin Dean and left-handed pitchers Ryan Rolison and Luke Little have been optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Catchers Ariel Almas and Casey Opitz and outfielder Brett Bateman and right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez have been returned to minor league camp,” they concluded.

Some fans in the comment section were surprised at some of the announcements, particularly regarding Little, the 6’8″ pitcher who was selected by the team back in the 2020 MLB Draft, making his major league debut in 2023.

The Cubs are hoping to continue the success of last season, which saw the team win 92 games and earn a spot in the divisional round against Milwaukee after defeating the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round. That marked the first Cubs’ postseason appearance since the 2020 season, and the team has won just one playoff series outside the Wild Card since their 2016 World Series championship victory.

In any case, the Cubs’ regular season is slated to get underway later this month with a home series against the Washington Nationals, beginning on March 26.