The Cubs have optioned third baseman Matt Shaw to Triple-A Iowa, stories Keith Legislation of The Athletic. That’s half of a bigger slate of strikes, relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Infielder Vidal Bruján has been reinstated from the 10-day injured record. On the pitching aspect, the membership recalled left-hander Luke Little and right-hander Daniel Palencia. To make room for these two, righty Nate Pearson has been optioned to Iowa as effectively, whereas righty Eli Morgan has been positioned on the 15-day IL attributable to an elbow impingement.
Shaw, 23, got here into the season as one of many prime prospects within the league. The membership clearly believed he was worthy of a shot on the majors, as they traded Isaac Paredes to the Astros as a part of the Kyle Tucker deal within the offseason. That didn’t assure Shaw a spot on the Opening Day roster nevertheless it opened a door for him, which he walked by. He cracked the membership’s roster forward of the Tokyo Sequence and has been serving as their common third baseman up till this level.
The outcomes have been blended. Throughout his 68 plate appearances up to now, he has drawn a stroll in 14.7% of them, however he’s additionally been struck out at a 26.5% clip. He has a tepid .172/.294/.241 batting line, although with a .231 batting common on balls in play. That quantity is on the unfortunate aspect however Shaw hasn’t been doing himself many favors by way of placing good wooden on the ball. His 82.7 mile per hour common exit velocity within the second percentile of certified MLB hitters, per Statcast. His hard-hit fee is within the fifth percentile, his bat pace within the tenth and his barrel fee fifteenth. His protection has additionally been a little bit of a query mark. In 141 innings at third base up to now, he already has 4 errors.
All of that’s absolutely lower than the Cubs had been hoping for, as he destroyed minor league pitching. After getting chosen with the thirteenth general decide within the 2023 draft, Shaw received into 159 minor league video games between that draft choice and the top of the 2024 season. He had stable stroll and strikeout charges of 10.2% and 17.3% respectively whereas slashing .303/.384/.522 for a 157 wRC+. 35 of these video games had been on the Triple-A degree final yr and he hit .298/.395/.534 in these, constructing the case that he was prepared for a serious league debut.
Shaw is one more instance of a prime prospect who didn’t instantly click on on the main league degree. Whereas some could soar to declare Shaw a “bust”, this form of factor is definitely fairly frequent. A traditional instance is Mike Trout, who hit .220/.281/.390 in his first 135 plate appearances again in 2011. It will possibly’t be assumed {that a} prospect will instantly succeed when reaching the majors for the primary time, nor does it imply that they received’t ever discover success down the road.
Sending Shaw down is defensible in a vacuum, given his struggles. However outdoors the vacuum, it’s unclear who the Cubs can flip to as a greater choice for the recent nook. Bruján has a .189/.261/.270 batting line in his profession. Justin Turner has a number of third base expertise however is now 40 years previous. He’s been extra of a primary base/designated hitter kind lately, with simply 90 innings on the sizzling nook for the reason that finish of the 2022 season. He’s additionally having his personal struggles on the plate this yr, with a .172/.286/.172 line up to now. Jon Berti is a 35-year-old veteran utility man. Gage Workman is a Rule 5 man who has obtained simply ten plate appearances up to now this yr and has been punched out in 5 of them.
It’s potential that is only a short-term scenario and Shaw might be again up with the large league membership quickly. How lengthy it takes for his return might be important for him and the membership. By cracking the Opening Day roster, he was on tempo to get a full yr of service time in 2025. That will have meant qualifying for arbitration after 2027 and free company after 2030. A fast return to the majors may nonetheless make these targets viable. A significant league season is 187 days lengthy however a participant wants simply 172 days within the large leagues or on the injured record to get credited with a full yr. It’s additionally potential for Shaw to qualify for arbitration after 2027 even with lower than three years of service time, as he may attain Tremendous Two standing.
If Shaw doesn’t return pretty rapidly, these timelines might be pushed one yr into the longer term. It should additionally take off the opportunity of the Cubs incomes an additional draft decide through the prospect promotion incentive. Below the PPI guidelines, groups can earn an additional decide by carrying a prime prospect on the roster lengthy sufficient to earn a full service yr. The Cubs put that on the desk initially by giving Shaw an Opening Day job however it’ll not apply if he’s down for a number of weeks.
Picture courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Photographs
