The Chicago Cubs made several roster moves before Tuesday night’s game in San Diego to address areas in which they’re struggling.

One will come as a bit of a surprise to fans.

The Cubs optioned rookie third baseman Matt Shaw to Triple-A Iowa and activated utilityman Vidal Bruján off the 10-day injured list to take his place on the active roster.

The team also optioned right-hander Nate Pearson to Iowa and placed right-hander Eli Morgan on the 15-day IL with a right elbow impingement. Right-hander Daniel Palencia and left-hander Luke Little were recalled to the 26-man roster.

Shaw’s option is the headliner here. He is a Top 100 MLB prospect who won the Cubs’ Opening Day third base job and entered the season with plenty of hoopla. But he struggled in 18 games, slashing just .172/.294/.241 (.535 OPS) with one home run, three RBI and a 66 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), 34 percentage points below league average. The Cubs have received just a 62 wRC+ from the hot corner this season — 22nd in the majors.

This isn’t a permanent demotion for the 23-year-old. He’ll be back at some point — potentially even soon. But the Cubs are in the thick of a daunting April schedule, and having Shaw continue to develop for a period at Triple-A will benefit him and allow the Cubs to try and receive more offensive production from the hot corner.

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The Cubs likely will platoon some combination of Jon Berti, Gage Workman and Bruján at third base in the interim. Berti has just 20 plate appearances this season, but he’s hitting .278 with five stolen bases this season. His baserunning prowess already has helped the team and is part of its identity this season.

Morgan’s IL stint isn’t a surprise. He exited Monday’s game with right elbow discomfort, and Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the contest that he expected roster moves because of it.

The Cubs acquired the right-hander from Cleveland in an offseason trade. He missed about a month collectively last season on the IL — first with a shoulder inflammation and then with elbow inflammation — but finished with a 1.93 ERA in 32 appearances. He allowed 10 earned runs on 12 hits in 7.1 innings (12.27 ERA) for the Cubs, though.

Pearson has struggled this season, too, so his option to Iowa isn’t a shocker, either. He has a 10.38 ERA in 8.2 innings this season and is coming off his worst outing of the season Monday. He walked three, allowed two hits and permitted three runs to give the Padres the lead, all while recording only one out on 20 pitches. Pearson has a whopping 2.31 WHIP this season.

Palencia, 25, has been solid for Iowa this season, with a 2.25 ERA in four innings across five outings with seven strikeouts. His stuff always has been tantalizing — he regularly can touch triple digits on his four-seam fastball — but he has yet to put it together at the big-league level.

Little, 24, has a 3.86 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP in four innings with Iowa this season. He’s another left-handed option for Counsell in his bullpen, along with Caleb Thielbar.

Little was developing as a trusted reliever for Counsell in 2024, but a shoulder injury ended his season, and the Cubs played his ramp-up slow in spring because of it.