Cubs Announce First Round of Spring Training Roster Cuts Including Top Prospect

Spring Training not only marks the beginning of the baseball season but also provides teams with essential tangible evidence of how their roster and prospects may perform when it matters.

The pressure is on for these athletes, and they’re working against the clock. They know teams make their first round of roster cuts before Spring Training wraps up.

For the Chicago Cubs, today is that day.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Cubs make first cuts

The team announced Sunday that they’ve cut the Spring Training roster from 62 men to 53, sending nine athletes back to minor league affiliates and camps.

Right-handed pitchers Riley Martin and Jack Neely, and infielders Ben Cowles and James Triantos were optioned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, while infielder Pedro Ramirez was optioned to the Double-A Knoxville Smokies.

Right -handed pitchers Grant Kipp, Connor Noland, Connor Schultz and Jaxon Wiggins were all sent back to minor league camp.

Today's roster moves presented by @NuveenInv: pic.twitter.com/JYwYTReKr8
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 8, 2026

First round of cuts include No. 2 prospect

Cutting Wiggins already is an interesting choice.

On Thursday, MLB insider Bruce Levine was confident the Cubs’ No. 2 overall prospect would make his major league debut sometime this season. He didn’t necessarily expect Wiggins to make the 40-man roster immediately, but was confident he’d be the Cubs’ first choice to promote should things go awry with the starting rotation.

“Wiggins is, you know, certainly the first big pitcher that's going to come from Triple-A this year for the Cubs,” Levine said Thursday on The Score. “So if there's injury issues, if there's issues with people not getting the job done, Wiggins is the guy they're looking at, and he's going to start at Triple-A.”

He isn't guaranteed to be the first Cubs pitcher called up from Triple-A Iowa, but Jaxon Wiggins is the first in line to be a meaningful answer for Chicago at the big league level if injury or need arises, @MLBBruceLevine told @mullyhaugh. pic.twitter.com/dJ3CCIob1D
— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) March 5, 2026

Contrary to Levine’s prediction, Wiggins isn’t headed back to Iowa. Instead, he’s bound for minor league camp.

It’s a surprising move given the expectations of and predictions for Wiggins. Cubs’ No. 1 overall prospect catcher Moisés Ballesteros remains with the team in Mesa for now. Ballesteros is expected to make the 40-man roster and fill the designated hitter role.

Chicago Cubs designated hitter Moises Ballesteros (25) throws on the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The reasoning behind Wiggins’ option to Triple-A could be the simple fact that the Cubs want him to get more experience under his belt — but why not keep him through the rest of Spring Training? Possibly because his performance was just OK.

The 24-year-old threw 3.1 innings over two Spring Training games. Over 1.1 innings against the Angels Feb. 26, Wiggins gave up six hits, five earned runs and struck out three batters as the Cubs fell 5-4.

He went two full innings Wednesday in the Cubs’ 4-1 victory over the Brewers. Wiggins gave up zero hits and didn’t allow any earned runs, while striking out two batters and walking one.

Jaxon Wiggins | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Neither of those showings was bad, necessarily, but Levine also noted a key factor on The Score Thursday:

“[Wiggins] doesn't have a tremendous amount of experience innings-wise down there, but the fastball plays big, [and he has a] really good slider,” Levine said. “So from that perspective, this guy is the best young pitcher in their organization that's not in the big leagues right now, but pitching doesn't seem to be the problem for the Cubs right now.”

All-in-all, Wiggins’ cut is perhaps the most surprising so far, but it doesn’t mean the organization is lacking confidence in the young prospect.