Fifth in the series.\u00a0Today we look at the Cubs\u2019 newly-anointed utility man.<\/p>\n
Matt Shaw<\/a> is a controversial figure in Cubdom right now. Not for his political beliefs (at this time), but because the signing of Alex Bregman<\/a> necessarily leads to a change of position for the young man, and because it looks a bit like fan favorite and team leader Nico Hoerner is going somewhere else after this season to facilitate Shaw\u2019s transference to second base, should there be a 2027 season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The chance of that is non-zero, but that won\u2019t be our focus.<\/p>\n Shaw had two different seasons in one. His first half was iffy \u2014 the entire third base contingent were not very good, and none of them got to midseason, except for Shaw, who took over the spot, made a lot of really good defensive plays, and held his own with the bat. His slash line of .226\/.295\/.394, with a bWAR of 3.1, isn\u2019t anything to write home about, but it\u2019s leagues better than Jon Berti was turning in.<\/p>\n Indeed his bWAR figure is in the same ballpark as Bregman\u2019s 2025 (3.5 bWAR). Bregman\u2019s numbers were reduced due to injury. Shaw\u2019s were bolstered by his very good second half. Fangraphs<\/a>, who aren\u2019t as influenced by defensive numbers, awarded Shaw 1.5 fWAR, while Bregman garnered 3.5 fWAR.<\/p>\n