MESA, Ariz. — As the Chicago Cubs make accelerated preparations for Opening Day, top prospect Matt Shaw has not yet been ruled in or out for the Tokyo Series, team officials said, leaving one of the biggest roster decisions still undecided.
Shaw entered spring training as the favorite to earn the job at third base, and he saw a clear path to the majors once Alex Bregman turned down an offer from the Cubs and signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in the middle of February. Around that time, though, Shaw also felt oblique discomfort while swinging in the batting cages, a setback that slowed his preseason program.
He sat out the first 10 days of Cactus League action, and with only five days to go until the team travels to Japan, Shaw has just nine plate appearances. He has no major-league experience and isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs could proceed cautiously.
The organization’s evaluation of Shaw, however, has not changed. The Cubs want him to win this competition, and they expect he will be an everyday player at Wrigley Field this year and beyond.
lovely play, Matt Shaw. pic.twitter.com/Mc9FXmc36K
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 4, 2025
Shaw, a first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Maryland, has posted a .906 OPS across four minor-league levels. He’s still learning the intricacies of playing third base. But at the age of 23 — and with only 35 games at Triple-A Iowa on his resume — his focus and maturity are noticeable.
“He’s got a really slow heartbeat,” Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty said Thursday. “You watch him in the on-deck circle, it’s like: ‘Are you really ready to hit right now?’ He’s got that calmness and confidence in himself and the way he prepares. He’s got a ton of confidence without being too cocky.”
That impression matters, especially given the hype surrounding Shaw and the organizational disappointment after losing the Bregman negotiations. If Shaw had stayed healthy throughout spring training, this decision probably would have been made already — he would be in the projected March 18 lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome.
“He’s figured out every level he’s gone to,” Flaherty said. “He’s found a way to master it pretty quickly. There will probably be growing pains early in the year, but the track record shows that he’ll adjust quickly.”
• Ben Brown will continue to be stretched out as a starter because the Cubs know he could be a big X-factor for their rotation and they don’t want to foreclose that possibility right now. Rather than tapering his innings in March and immediately turning him into a high-leverage reliever, it makes more sense for Brown to increase his workload and be available if the Cubs need another starter. Moving to the bullpen later would be easier than trying to ramp back up toward 100 pitches again.
At this stage of his career, Brown, 25, expects this to be a fluid situation and understands things. He’s a 6-foot-6 right-hander with swing-and-miss stuff, an analytical approach to pitching and a minor-league option this year.
Brown hinted at his ceiling by throwing seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers last May. He also showed how fragile things can be by throwing only nine innings the rest of the year due to an unusual neck injury.
“I do want to be a starter in this league,” Brown said. “And I do want to be a starter for a very long time. Obviously, we have a very good team, a very deep team. I want to have a role. I’m preparing to go out there and get outs. I think that my stuff plays out of the bullpen. I think it plays as a starter. I don’t think my approach changes at all.”
• Brad Keller has an opt-out clause in his contract, and his velocity jump and mechanical improvements have opened eyes in the Cactus League, league sources said, meaning the Cubs will likely add him to their roster at some point rather than watch him get taken by another team at the end of spring training. In a sign of the club’s initial interest and belief in Keller’s potential, Cubs manager Craig Counsell joined an offseason video conference with Keller, participating in the presentation before he signed his minor-league deal. Keller would earn a $1.5 million major-league salary in Chicago.
• Yency Almonte is returning to the organization on a minor-league deal, as ESPN first reported, with the idea that he could become a bullpen option later this summer. The right-handed reliever is still recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, according to a league source. The Cubs originally acquired Almonte in the Michael Busch trade with the Dodgers, expecting him to become an integral part of their bullpen. Almonte pitched well in April and May before the injury wiped out most of his 2024 season. The two prospects given up in that deal, outfielder Zyhir Hope and left-handed pitcher Jackson Ferris, rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in Keith Law’s latest rankings of the Dodgers’ farm system for The Athletic.
(Photo of Matt Shaw: Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images)
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