SAN DIEGO ¨C Standing inside the visitors¡¯ dugout at Petco Park on Monday afternoon, Matt Shaw expressed confidence that he was on the cusp of turning a corner. He believed he had identified a flaw in his offseason training and knew what it would take to get back to being himself again in the batter¡¯s box.
¡°When I say that,¡± Shaw said, ¡°I'm just meaning, like, really small adjustments that are going to get me back to where my swing needs to be. Everything else I feel really confident about, so it's that last bit of like, ¡®Now my swing's where it needs to be,¡¯ and then it's hopefully off to the races.¡±
Prior to Tuesday¡¯s game against the Padres, the Cubs optioned Shaw to Triple-A Iowa, offering him a chance to take a deep breath after a tough start to his MLB career. The decision also gives Shaw ¨C Pipeline¡¯s top Cubs prospect and No. 18 on the Top 100 list ¨C the opportunity to dive into what he learned from his initial taste of the big leagues.
The Cubs agreed that the 23-year-old Shaw did not look like the best version of himself offensively over the last few weeks. The third baseman has built a reputation for making hard contact, but appeared to be in ¡°survival mode¡± with a more contact-based approach, as Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer described the situation.
¡°I don¡¯t look at this as a negative. It¡¯s almost part of the process. I¡¯m sure he learned a lot,¡± Hoyer said Tuesday. ¡°This league is unrelenting. And I think, at times, you just need to take a step back before you can take a step forward.¡±
Through 18 games with the Cubs, Shaw hit .172/.294/.241 with one homer, one double, three RBIs, 10 walks and 18 strikeouts. To Hoyer¡¯s point, Shaw¡¯s 22.5% hard-hit rate was in the bottom 5% of baseball, per Statcast. That was uncharacteristic for a player who soared up the Cubs¡¯ system as a steady power-speed threat since being picked 13th overall in the ¡®23 Draft.
Shaw said he worked over the offseason on starting his swing earlier, anticipating higher velocity in the Majors. That led to some timing issues in the end, and Shaw will focus on making some minor adjustments while with the I-Cubs.
¡°Honestly, as I've gone through this,¡± Shaw said, ¡°I've realized that I didn't need to adjust like I did, and I think I was better off just sticking with what makes me good.¡±
While Shaw finds his footing back with Triple-A Iowa, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he will rotate through his options at third base based on matchups. Rookie Gage Workman got the nod for Tuesday¡¯s game in San Diego, but Chicago also has veteran Justin Turner, plus utility men Jon Berti and Vidal Bruj¨¢n as alternatives.
¡°Look, you have to see adversity or struggles as an opportunity to grow,¡± Counsell said. ¡°And, for prospects ¨C big prospects that make the big leagues ¨C there hasn¡¯t been much baseball struggle. That¡¯s the nature of them getting here at a young age. But that also means they¡¯re wired to handle these things the right way.
¡°So, no concerns about that. Matt¡¯s going to go down and he understands. And he¡¯s going to go down and bust his tail to be the player he knows he is and we know he is.¡±
The Cubs handed Shaw the keys to third base this spring after parting ways with every other player who started at that position for the team in ¡®24. Chicago pursued free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman this spring, but stuck with Shaw as the top choice after the star inked a deal with the Red Sox.
Not only did Shaw have to deal with those Bregman rumors, but an oblique setback in Spring Training led to a quick ramp to Opening Day. There was also the trip overseas for the Tokyo Series against the Dodgers, plus a challenging schedule in multiple regards over the past month.
¡°He was definitely thrown into the fire,¡± Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. ¡°And it's not that he's not able to handle that or anything, but he definitely got a real glimpse at what the league has to offer, as far as the quality of arms he faced, playing in the cold and the travel. No excuses, but it was a lot.
¡°This is just another opportunity to learn from experience. There's never going to be any questions on our end about, like, is he working hard? Does he care? He's a guy that's very upbeat.¡±