Cubs latest roster move opens door even further for top prospect

The Chicago Cubs might not be as active as their fans would like on the free-agent market, but Jed Hoyer has been as active as any executive on the trade market. Chicago acquired Kyle Tucker and Eli Morgan in separate deals while also trading Cody Bellinger and Matt Mervis in unrelated transactions.

Hoyer added another trade to his already lengthy offseason list, acquiring Matt Festa from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. Festa has seen time with three different teams over the last two seasons and could be a bullpen depth option for Chicago.

To add Festa to the mix, though, the Cubs had to part with a player to ensure they had enough room on their 40-man roster. The player they chose to DFA was Miles Mastrobuoni, a utility man who saw time at six different positions for the Cubs this past season (including pitcher).

Parting with Mastrubuoni isn't a huge deal by any means. While his versatility can come in handy, he slashed .194/.245/.224 in 50 MLB appearances and 106 plate appearances this past season. He has a career .542 OPS in parts of three MLB seasons. He's very replaceable. Where this decision is interesting, though, is that the Cubs got rid of yet another player who could play third base.

The Cubs traded Isaac Paredes in the deal that landed them Kyle Tucker. They DFA'd Patrick Wisdom once they acquired Morgan. They non-tendered Nick Madrigal. Now, Mastrubuoni is gone, too. It's looking more like the third base job is Matt Shaw's to lose.

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Cubs latest roster move makes it even more certain that 3B job is Matt Shaw's to lose

If Opening Day was today, there's a good chance Shaw, the organization's No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, would be the team's starter at the hot corner. There's an inherent risk that comes with starting a rookie with no MLB experience on Opening Day, but who else is there that can play third base? Vidal Brujan?

There's a reason why Shaw is considered the organization's top prospect. He slashed .284/.379/.488 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI in his first full minor league season, making it all the way up to Triple-A. Once at the highest minor league level, Shaw posted a .929 OPS and hit seven home runs in 35 games. There's obviously a jump going from Triple-A to the majors, but Shaw certainly is a more appealing option than Brujan or anyone else on this team right now.

The Cubs could look to free agency to bring in a veteran option, but the best non-Alex Bregman option out there is either Yoan Moncada or Jose Iglesias. The Cubs could look to the trade market, but who's out there? Nolan Arenado? How realistic is that?

As long as the Cubs continue to part with virtually anybody other than Shaw who can play third base and refuse to add anybody to man that position, there's no reason to believe anybody other than Shaw will be standing at the hot corner on Opening Day, which is exciting for Cubs fans.