This week, the Chicago Cubs shook up the MLB by signing former Red Sox star Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million deal. Notably, the contract includes a no-trade clause, making it one of the largest in Cubs history. Even so, the team still has high expectations for their third baseman, Matt Shaw.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Shaw, a rising star, joined the team after the Cubs selected him 13th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft straight out of Maryland. He didn\u2019t make his MLB debut last year, but now, after Bregman\u2019s high-profile signing, Cubs President Jed Hoyer wants to unlock Matt Shaw\u2019s potential and fully tap into the depth he brings to the roster.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think depth is something that people, like you, talk about in the winter and the offseason. I feel like in the offseason, people are much more likely to be right out of the five-man rotation, right out of the lineup, and feel good about the team. But you realize that once we get to spring training, people start getting hurt and things start happening, and having that kind of depth is really important,\u201d Jed Hoyer told MLB Network Radio.<\/p>\n
Hoyer\u2019s concerns are justified. Historically, injuries have repeatedly challenged the Cubs, making roster flexibility essential. He recalled 2016, when Kyle Schwarber tore his knee in the third game of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks.<\/p>\n
During that stretch, Chris Bryant shifted to left field while Javi Baez moved \u201call over the field.\u201d Through that experience, Hoyer realized the value of versatile players on the roster. Versatile players are really valuable. Having depth is really valuable because we were able to lose a bat like Schwarber and not miss a beat since the other guys could move around.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When it comes to Matt Shaw, Jed Hoyer places significant responsibility on the young player\u2019s shoulders. From an \u201cathleticism standpoint,\u201d the Springfield native not only covers multiple infield positions but also gives the Cubs added flexibility, thereby boosting the roster\u2019s overall depth in case of injuries.<\/p>\n
Shaw handles the third-base duties in his rookie season, yet that doesn\u2019t mean he isn\u2019t aware of the pressure to hold onto his spot.<\/p>\n
Matt Shaw prepares to anchor the Cubs\u2019 utility depth<\/p>\n
Matt Shaw reacted much like any employee would when a more experienced and skilled teammate joins the team<\/a>. Then, while watching television, his phone buzzed with notifications that Alex Bregman would be joining the Cubs.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Naturally, the news left the rookie third baseman from last season questioning: What lies ahead? What does the future hold? And exactly where will he play? These thoughts constantly occupied the Springfield native\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re kind of looking at it like \u2018Oh man, where am I going to play?\u2019 And you get a little anxious about those things. The team knows me well enough at this point to know I just want to be prepared when the season comes around,\u201d said Matt Shaw at the team\u2019s annual fan convention.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cubs President Jed Hoyer plans to use Shaw in a utility role, and Matt Shaw is ready to take on that responsibility. He will also see time in the outfield.<\/p>\n With trade season ongoing, there is a chance the team could move Shaw, but manager Craig Counsell shut down those rumors, emphasizing that they don\u2019t have \u201cenough guys\u201d yet to build full roster depth. Still, the Cubs avoided major injuries last season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As the Chicago Cubs continue to strengthen their roster, what are your expectations for the team? Should they trade Matt Shaw, or is it smarter to hold onto him? One thing is certain: moving him could cost the team valuable depth.<\/p>\n The post Cubs Heap Pressure on Matt Shaw as Jed Hoyer Faces Tough Questions After Alex Bregman Call<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week, the Chicago Cubs shook up the MLB by signing former Red Sox star Alex Bregman to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[72,22,5,138,24,4245,161,884,81,716,4,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-527614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-alex-bregman","9":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-cubs","13":"tag-chicagocubs","14":"tag-cubs","15":"tag-jed-hoyer","16":"tag-kyle-schwarber","17":"tag-matt-shaw","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-red-sox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115922094413760802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}