Matt Shaw Is Putting in the Work To Break Out With the Cubs in 2025
The Cubs' third base job is wide open. With how the roster looks right now, Matt Shaw should have a real shot to claim the spot.

The third base job for the Chicago Cubs in 2025 is wide open, and Matt Shaw will have as good a shot as anyone to take hold of it.
Just take a gander at the way that spot has evolved since last season. The most notable change was the Cubs trading Isaac Paredes (the incumbent third baseman) and Cam Smith (their 2024 first-round pick) to the Houston Astros for Kyle Tucker last month. Shaw, 23, is well aware of what that trade could mean for him.
“[It’s] exciting,” he said Saturday during the Cubs Convention. “You hope that that’s because they have belief in me. We’ll see how everything pans out, and obviously, I’m going to do everything I can do to earn that position.”
Outside of that single trade, though, the entire position group looks different. In 2024, eight Cubs played a combined 1,432.1 innings at third base. Of those eight, only Luis Vazquez (12 innings) and Michael Busch (0.1 innings) remain — the two who spent the least time at third among the group.
However, Vazquez has little experience at third in the pros, and he’s probably best suited for middle-infield depth. And though Busch spent plenty of time at third in the minors, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made it clear last month that they “see Michael as a Gold Glove first baseman, and that’s our focus.”
So, neither seems like they’d emerge as the top option at the hot corner.
The Cubs did bring in other options to help create a “safety net” behind Shaw, as general manager Carter Hawkins put it. They selected Gage Workman in the Rule 5 draft, and then they traded for Vidal Bruján from the Miami Marlins.
Workman has never played above Double-A, though, and while Bruján has some experience at third, he’s been more of a utility player in the big leagues. The Cubs using him in that way would make sense.
That leaves us with Shaw. Of course, there’ve been some rumblings about free agent Alex Bregman, who if acquired would stand in Shaw’s way. But at the Cubs Convention, Hoyer said it’s “likely” their Opening Day third baseman is already in the organization.
So, barring an unforeseen move — Hawkins did say they’d still explore external options, but that’s more likely for further depth — Shaw should get the chance to grab hold of that spot. He just has to prove he can do it on both sides of the ball, and he’s got a really good opportunity in front of him to do that.
Shaw Will Hit in the Big Leagues
The Cubs are confident in Shaw’s bat. They’ve seen what he’s done at every level, and they aren’t worried about his ability to produce in the big leagues.
Drafted 13th overall in 2023, Shaw has done nothing but hit since making his pro debut. That helped him quickly move up to Double-A by the end of his first season and finish with a 1.018 OPS across three levels.
Then, in 2024, he hit 21 homers and slashed .284/.379/.488 in 121 games between Double-A and Triple-A. That included seven homers and a .929 OPS in 35 games at Triple-A alone.
Clearly, he’s had no trouble adjusting and finding success with the bat as he’s moved up the ladder. Still, there are some questions about his leg kick and how it will translate in the big leagues.
Its size varies, but it’s more pronounced than a basic toe tap. Shaw said the leg kick “has been very natural” and is something he’s done his whole life. It serves as a timing mechanism, but it also “lets me adjust my timing if need be.”
“Some people like the toe tap. I think those people might have some longer levers, too,” Shaw added. “You see a guy like [Shohei] Ohtani; he’s waiting back, and he’s so long and strong. He can hit a curveball and a fastball, and you can see how much time he has.
“But a guy with shorter levers like me and Bregman or even a guy like [Mike] Trout, who’s got real short arms, you can see that their leg kicks or their timing mechanisms are a little different, because they don’t have the luxury of foot down and hitting everything. The leg kick actually gives you a little bit easier timing to adjust from pitch to pitch.”
Of course, Shaw hasn’t tested the leg kick in the majors yet. It’s certainly possible he struggles with it at the highest level.
Until that happens, though, the Cubs aren’t looking to change what’s worked for him for so long.
“It’s not an issue until it becomes an issue,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said. “I think I’d be doing him a disservice saying that this is not going to work at the big-league level, because I don’t know that until it doesn’t work. Would that be the first thing that we talk about if there’s some struggles? Maybe. I don’t know. But it’s definitely not something that I’m concerned about right now.”
It’s very possible Shaw will struggle when he gets to the majors. The Cubs might have to be patient with a young hitter who has loads of potential.
Regardless, they’re confident he’ll become an impactful bat in that lineup.
Defensive Work at Third Base Continues
In college at Maryland, Shaw played mostly shortstop. In his debut season in 2023, the majority of his playing time came there and at second base. But with Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson making up the Cubs’ middle-infield defense, the clearest path to playing time is at third base.
At last year’s Cubs Convention, Shaw said he’d taken “probably 99 percent” of his offseason reps at third. Then, last season, he spent well over half of his innings at the hot corner and played there — and earned All-World Team honors — during the Premier12. Early returns last season weren’t the best, but evaluators noted the progress he made throughout the year.
No, he wasn’t going to find complete success there immediately. Getting to a point where he could be trusted at third base was going to take some work. But, as Hoyer said, “he’s an unbelievable worker,” so there was no doubt he’d keep it going into the offseason. Now that he’s already down in Arizona, the work continues.
Shaw said he’s studied video of other third basemen around the league, including Nolan Arenado and Bregman. Neither play third the exact same way, but they’ve both managed to earn Gold Gloves. That shows Shaw that “there’s no cookie-cutter way to field third base.”
His arm strength has been the area of concern when it comes to his defense at the big-league level, but that’s not been the area of focus for him. Instead, he’s emphasized his footwork at third versus focusing solely on building up his arm.
“Just using some of my strengths, which is being able to be quick and have good feet,” Shaw said. “Something that, actually, [former Cub] Nick Madrigal did a really good job of was using his feet well to get that ball over to first base. There’s some guys with better arms, but just being able to utilize some things that I have going for me, like quick feet and stuff like that, I think it’s going to be really good for third base.”
It’s of course still a work in progress, but Shaw is putting in the effort. He wants the third base job, but he’s well aware the Cubs won’t just give it to him.
Leaders in the organization have recognized that work ethic. They believe it’ll lead him to great things. Whether that means a spot on this year’s Opening Day roster or not, there’s no reason to believe he can’t break out in 2025.
“At the end of the day, the big leagues is the big leagues,” Shaw said. “No matter how much the opportunity might present itself, it’s still going to be, you gotta earn that spot. Hopefully, given the opportunity, I’ll be able to show what I got and be able to earn that position”.