Matt Shaw could fill VALUABLE bench role for Chicago Cubs

Matt and Sam discuss Matt Shaw filling a super-utility role for the Cubs this season. Plus: Zac Gallen might still be a free agent option and trivia about Cubs left fielders in 2016.

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42 comments

  1. I do not think Shaw plays 95 % against lefties. They have Austin. I like him as insurance for injuries as Sam said. But also would be ok with him being traded if they can get a valuable player.

  4. Sign Gallen. Then trade Boyd to LAA for Jo Addell. Boyd was a peak and will be on the decline with age. Addell is 26 and is getting into his peak.

    MoBaller send to Iowa to full time catch and gets into that duty later year.

  5. Sam and Matt, what are you opinions on the WBC, should it be played in December after the MLB season ends, or are you ok with having it played in the middle of spring training where injuries can cause players to miss the season especially players who have these large contracts?

  6. The Shaw thing is about his moral standpoint, I think. Him going to Charlie Kirk’s memorial/funeral and missing a game. Like no players ever needed to miss a game for personal family time to go to a funeral or something. Sadly.

  18. Hey hey guys when it's hot in the middle of the summer when it's 90 out you can give these guys a rest now because you kept Shaw they they will become fresh at the end of the season because it gets hot when it gets hot they guys get tired So that's a good thing I don't see any downside to this at all Great show guys Love you guys have a nice day

  20. Not a good show for Matt….Taillon your opening day starter, cmon man….and then not to nitpick but Matt said Gallen has started 28 games the last 4 seasons, no he’s started at LEAST 28 games EACH of the last 4 seasons.
    IMO signing him with the $$$ cost and the loss of draft pick(s) would be a major waste of resources. If someone is injured etc that we don’t know about sign Verlander, he’d be about $7m per and still misses bats plus the good ole veteran leadership stuff!!

  25. Why does nobody say Zobrist when they say utility?!!?
    I get Javy comp. One of my favorite ball players ever. But Zobrist was signed for this. It used to be called a “Zobrist-type player” when referring to utility players.

  26. I really, really hope that Shaw gets more play time. I think it would be a horrible waste of talent to see him get designated to a bench role. Shaw's glove is just absolutely amazing and I don't think he's gotten enough time to show what he can do with his bat yet in the majors. I want to see more of him. I'd love to see more of him on the Cubs than not, but I also feel he deserves more than being applied as a bench player. From his perspective? I'd probably be pretty pissed if I wasn't given that chance. I understand there's a chance he can be given more situation at bats versus favorable matchups as well as in the event that someone gets injured, but you just can't rely on someone getting injured to give him more play time. Certainly you wouldn't WANT anyone to get injured to see him get that added play time. I dunno. We'll see. But I just feel Shaw deserves better. He's earned that right, in my opinion. Maybe, again, not with his bat, but his glove and defensive abilities are hard to ignore.

  27. Welcome back Sam. Plenty of liquids. Get better. I'm glad to hear you talk about using Shaw. I would hate to lose him. He is already one of if not the best fielders at third base I have seen in my 50 plus years of watching the Cubs. Should be another fun season. You need to start a predict the wins contest. 90 is my pick. Peace.

  31. The problem here is that these moves don't actually upgrade the team much. The one big upgrade is adding Cabrera to the starting rotation. As for the lineup, you've replaced Tucker's left-hander average. on-base and power with Bregman's right-hander stats, which are a touch under Tucker's. They may actually play a little bit better against righties than Tucker's do against lefties, but not enough to make you not miss that left-hander power bat. By removing Tucker's leftie bat, you've actually made the lineup worse against righties (the majority of the pitchers faced), and removed a lot of the flexibility you may have once had at DH.

    As it stands, it looks like Shaw will DH on days that Bregman plays third, and vice-versa. If it weren't for the fact that Bregman is still a great fielding third baseman, acquiring him would have made most sense if they planned on DHing him most of the time and playing Shaw at third, but they can't do that, so relatively light-hitting Shaw becomes your DH, and no longer has his stellar defense to keep him on the big league club when his bat falters…. See what I mean? It looks like an upgrade in your starting nine, but you'd have been better off paying Tucker.

    Unless someone else pops out of the woodwork to give you that left-hander power bat, this team is only really improved by adding Cabrera — and any pitcher, starting or not, is one muscle spasm away from being a complete bust move. So, as much of a Cubs fan as I am, I don't know what in hell y'all are getting excited over. This team won't score even 90% of the runs last year's team did, without that missing lefty power bat, and I don't think adding one quality starter is gonna make up for that. Now, had you added, say, Kyle Schwarber as your everyday DH in addition to Bregman, THAT would have been an upgrade. But as it stands — nope.

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