You know what, hand up, because I was kind of in this camp as well. On Friday, the Cubs let the public know that top prospect Matt Shaw had a bit of a setback at the start of spring training as the infielder sat out of action for a few days because of an oblique issue. That put some fans on high alert, but it turns out that freaking out for a day thinking the worst for Shaw was a bit of an overreaction from those Cubs fans.
Again, ever since Seiya Suzuki's oblique issue in spring training in 2023, I too get a little nervous when the same type of issue comes up. Luckily, this time around it does appear as though Shaw's oblique soreness was nothing more than.
The third baseman was given the green light to resume hitting on Saturday after initially feeling something off with his left oblique on Monday.
#Cubs rookie Matt Shaw says on Inside the Clubhouse that it’s a left oblique that he felt on Monday and says that after a couple of days off, he’ll be cleared to hit and throw today in Mesa. Team and he taking safe approach and hope to be full go early next week. @670TheScore
— Ryan McGuffey (@RyanMcGuffey) February 15, 2025
Lovely.
The Cubs really need Shaw to be healthy from the start because the current depth behind him isn't necessarily giving much confidence to fans. Plus, we're still not 100% sure if Nico Hoerner will be ready for Opening Day, so you'd hate to see two spots in the infield be manned by backups to begin the regular season.
Looking back at the offseason the Cubs truly opened the door for Shaw at third base. I know the team continues to say that they aren't simply handing the job over to their top prospect, but as ESPN's Jesse Rogers has pointed out recently, the Cubs got rid of all seven players to start at third base in 2024.
Christopher Morel - traded in July
Patrick Wisdom - non-tendered in November
Nick Madrigal - non-tendered in November
David Bote - free agent signing in December
Isaac Paredes - traded in December
Miles Mastrobuoni - DFA'd, traded in January
Luis Vazquez - DFA'd, traded in January
Meanwhile, the current infield depth on the 40-man roster is filled with several unproven players. Veteran Jon Berti has the longest track record, while Vidal Brujan, Benjamin Cowles and Gage Workman are the other infielders on the 40-man. Veteran Nicky Lopez was signed to a minor league deal and he might get a bench spot out of spring training.
So yeah, please be healthy Matt Shaw. Thanks.
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