The Chicago Cubs made a shocking decision on Tuesday afternoon to option their top prospect back to Triple-A following a tough couple of weeks to start the year.

Through his first 18 MLB games, Matt Shaw was slashing .172/.294/.241 with 18 strikeouts and just 10 hits.

Shaw had certainly shown flashes and there is not real panic over him not being everything the Cubs thought he was, but sometimes this is just the way things work out when a young prospect tries to make the transition the the big leagues.

While the decision comes as a bit of a shock to Chicago fans, it makes sense why the team is doing it and Shaw is hardly the first high-profile prospect not to immediately burst onto the scene.

While speaking to the media about the decision, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer referenced numerous examples of Cubs players who have been sent back down before returning and becoming stars, expressing very little concern for Shaw but explaining this is part of it.

“We look at [Kyle] Schwarber, [Ian] Happ, [Anthony] Rizzo, Javy [Baez], all of those guys have gone back at some point,” Hoyer said. “This is part of it, it’s really hard to break into the big leagues and even guys that sometimes seem like they have established themselves need to go back at some point for a reset so I don’t look at this as a negative, it’s part of the process.

“It’s been a great learning experience for him and I’m sure he’ll take what he learned, go back down to Iowa and think about it and I think he’ll come back better and more ready to go…this league is unrelenting and I think at times you need to take a step back before you can take a step forward.”

Shaw had only played 35 games for Iowa in 2024 after being promoted from Double-A Tennessee, and his numbers surprisingly saw an uptick upon facing the tougher competition, slashing .298/.395/.534 with seven home runs and 21 RBI over the last month and a half.

Seeing his numbers climb from Double-A to Triple-A was one of the things that convinced Cubs brass that he was ready for the big leagues, but as has been the case with almost every MLB player ever, it didn’t happen right away for Shaw.

It’s disappointing for fans to see the excitement of Shaw playing in Chicago wear off in less than three weeks, but he is going to be back sooner rather than later.

Going back down to Triple-A in order to take what you have learned and be able to apply it and work on it against lesser competition is an opportunity Shaw should relish and is going to be better for at the end of the day.

In the meantime, the Cubs will turn to some sort of combination of Gage Workman, Jon Berti, Justin Turner and Vidal Bruján to lock down the hot corner over the coming months while Shaw works his way back to the Show.