The Chicago Cubs sealed their place in the 2025 MLB postseason after two straight years of 83 wins and falling just short of the playoff tournament. How did the Cubs put it all together and get over the hump? Here are six key areas that led to the return of October baseball on the North Side.

CHICAGO — The Cubs have been in search of a mainstay at third base since they dealt Kris Bryant away at the 2021 MLB trade deadline.

Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal and Christopher Morel flashed promise but never secured the role. The Cubs acquired All-Star Isaac Paredes, who certainly had the credentials to fill the role, at the trade deadline last year. But he, like many Cubs hitters last year, struggled at Wrigley and never established himself, and the team was OK trading him to the Houston Astros in the blockbuster offseason deal that brought Kyle Tucker to Chicago.

Enter Matt Shaw.

The 2023 first-round draft pick was a hot-hitting college middle infielder who looked like a potential fast riser through the minor leagues. He was, and the Cubs began to give him reps at the hot corner in the minors, knowing he could be the solution in the big leagues.

And, when spring training opened this year, the goal was clear: It was Shaw’s job to lose. He battled an oblique injury but got healthy and made the team that opened the season in Japan in mid-March. But it wasn’t smooth sailing. Shaw struggled at the plate, hitting below .200 to start his big-league career and being taken out late in games for a defensive replacement at third base.

The struggles compounded, and he was optioned to the minors in mid-April.

One month later, he came back and announced his presence in a big way. Shaw picked up five hits in his first three games, but the glove work drastically improved. He began to make the routine plays and started making those “Oh, wow” stops that make a good defensive third baseman so special.

“He’s done a phenomenal job. I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to play third base at this level.”

Michael Busch on Matt Shaw’s play at third base this season. pic.twitter.com/6nMCfWxNxR

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 30, 2025

It brought stability to the position and added another strong fielder to a team predicated on run prevention. No longer was Cubs manager Craig Counsell turning to his bench late in games to try and squeeze more outs out of his defense. Shaw was the guy there.

Shaw has posted 13 defensive runs saved (DRS), the second-best among major-league third basemen this year, behind only Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Cincinnati Reds. From 2022 to 2024, Cubs third baseman had a -12 DRS, 22nd in baseball.

“Now, he would be the reverse – we put him in the game [for defense],” Counsell said last week in Cincinnati. “I think that tells you a lot — at least more than my words.”

And the bat, just as importantly, has come around.

Shaw is hitting .258 with an .839 OPS since the All-Star break, with 11 of his 12 home runs this season coming after the Midsummer Classic. His offensive development was akin to the growth Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya went through last year.

In a season when the Cubs were trying to return to the playoffs, they were willing to accept growing pains from Shaw, but he’s broken through them and appears to be the answer at the hot corner — and a potential building block.

Why the Cubs are in the playoffs series