A month ago, North Side fans were hot for a rumor that the Cubs would be making an all-in pitch for another bat in the lineup. Not just any bat, either: Eugenio Suarez, who was hitting .248 with 36 home runs for the Diamondbacks, posting an OPS of .897. That was reasonable, as it appeared that faith in rookie Matt Shaw at third had dwindled, as the former top prospect was batting just .198 at the All-Star break.
The Cubs, of course, did virtually nothing at the trade deadline, angering the fan base and appearing to give up a real chance to move the team firmly ahead of the Brewers in the Central. But a funny thing has happened since then.
Suarez was traded to Seattle–a cavernous ballpark–and has not been able to adjust. He has five homes in 24 games with the Mariners, but he is batting .174 with 31 strikeouts in 84 at-bats. Considering Suarez is a poor third baseman that’s … pretty bad.
Shaw, though, has raised his average 32 points since the break. He is batting .230 now, thanks to a .299 batting average since the break, with nine homers. Shaw was 1-for-3 in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss in San Francisco.
Cubs Like Rookie’s ‘Resiliency’
Shaw, of course, got off to a terrible start in Chicago, batting .172 in his first 19 games, leading to a mid-April demotion back to Iowa. Asked about Shaw’s adjustments and changes recently, Cubs manager Craig Counsell had praise.
“I think we should all be really proud of what Matt’s kinda done this year in terms of being slapped, hit in the face with the big leagues and how tough it is and how tough it is to be a hitter in this league, to survive it,” Counsell said. “He got sent down obviously and came back and had a good stretch and then struggled again.
“That’s just part of it. I think the resiliency to continue to search for and know success is in there, is an important trait and an important characteristic and one that you need to be successful. And he’s done that. You don’t get defeated and beat, you just keep coming to work and trying to find better answers and find something that helps you become a better player. Matt has done that no matter what has been going on.”
Matt Shaw Still Learning Third Base
Shaw has been consistently great at third base this season, but Counsell acknowledged that he is a “tinkerer” when it comes to how he handles the plate. And Shaw added that he is a tinkerer at third base, too, where he ranks No. 2 in MLB with nine runs saved at third base. Shaw was drafted as a shortstop in 2023.
“It definitely took some time,” Shaw said this week. “I definitely was not really great at it right away. It’s just a different angle, so it’s just kinda tough. You’re seeing the ball at a different angle, so the reactions are very different at third than they are at the middle.
“So it’s taken a lot of time to continue to adjust. There’s still balls that I don’t get a great read on right away. It takes time.”
Cubs Rookie Rewarding Faith After Trade Deadline Rumors