The Cubs made a big addition to their infield this week by signing Alex Bregman to a five-year deal. That has led to speculation about the club then pivoting to a trade of another infielder, such as Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw. At Bregman’s introductory press conference today, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer admitted that they have received more calls from other clubs about Hoerner and Shaw this week, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. But that doesn’t mean they plan to trade either and Hoyer said Shaw could spend some time in the outfield this year, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, which would help him get into the lineup more.
The Cubs came into the winter with a projected infield alignment of Shaw at third, Dansby Swanson at short, Hoerner at second and Michael Busch at first. Adding Bregman at third blocks Shaw from a regular role. He has primarily been a third baseman but has dabbled in the middle infield as well. That has contributed somewhat to the Hoerner trade speculation. Since Hoerner is an impending free agent, there’s an argument for flipping him now and putting Shaw at second base.
But Hoerner is far more established as a useful big leaguer than Shaw. The latter just made his debut last year and has 126 big league games under his belt. In that time, he produced a subpar batting line of .226/.295/.394, leading to a 93 wRC+. He was better in the second half, with a .258/.317/.522 line and 130 wRC+, but in a fairly small sample of 205 plate appearances.
Hoerner, on the other hand, has been a regular for years. He played in at least 135 games in each of the past four campaigns. He doesn’t have huge power but is tough to strike out and has consistently been an above-average hitter with that contact approach. He also has excellent defense and speed. The combination has been worth at least 3.9 wins above replacement for four straight years, per FanGraphs.
Subtracting Hoerner and subbing in Shaw would run the risk of noticeably downgrading the team in 2026, a year in which the Cubs clearly want to compete. They just made the postseason in 2025 and have been aggressively adding to the club this winter via their Bregman signing and the Edward Cabrera trade.
If some team gives them a strong offer, they would naturally have to consider the pros and cons. Just in the past week, the Giants, Mariners and Yankees have been connected to Hoerner in rumors. But it also appears the club could be leaning towards using Shaw in a utility capacity this year. If Hoerner is not extended, he would depart after 2026, opening up second base for Shaw to have a more regular role.
Shaw doesn’t have outfield experience as a professional. Since being selected 13th overall in 2023, he has played third base and the two middle infield spots in the minors. In the big leagues last year, he mostly played third with just six innings at the keystone and none at shortstop. He did play a bit of outfield in the early parts of his collegiate career but was mostly kept in the middle infield as time went on.
During his major league time last year, Shaw’s sprint speed was ranked in the 90th percentile of major leaguers. That athleticism gives him a nice head-start in terms of being a viable outfielder but the Cubs will presumably want to get him reps in spring if they plan to follow through on using Shaw as a super utility guy.
Teams love that kind of versatility and there could be clear benefits for the Cubs in terms of playing matchups. Shaw hits from the right side and had noticeable platoon splits in his first big league season. He had a .218/.287/.362 line and 82 wRC+ against righties but a .250/.318/.490 line and 125 wRC+ with the platoon advantage.
The Cubs project to have a few lefty bats in their regular lineup, with Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, Busch at first base and Moisés Ballesteros likely doing some catching and serving as the designated hitter. They all have fared better against righties in their respective careers, with Crow-Armstrong having particular struggles against southpaws. Ian Happ is also a switch-hitter who has had more success as a lefty bat in his career.
There’s also the fact that Seiya Suzuki could spend more time in the outfield with the way the roster is currently constructed. He was largely the designated hitter last year but the departure of Kyle Tucker means he is slated to take more time on the grass. Outs Above Average has ranked Suzuki as six outs below par in his career and Defensive Runs Saved has put him at negative five. Even if he gets a lot of starts, the Cubs could look to replace him defensively late in games. Having another viable outfielder on the roster naturally helps there.
This is all contingent on everyone being healthy, as one injury quickly changes the whole picture, but that also underscores the importance of having some versatility. If Shaw is able to viably play the outfield, then it makes it easier to rotate players around based on health and matchups. Currently, the bench projects to have backup catcher Miguel Amaya and first baseman Tyler Austin alongside Shaw and outfielder Justin Dean. The latter is a strong defender and baserunner but has bigger questions about his bat. He is also still optionable.
Getting into the lineup regularly would also be good for Shaw from a developmental perspective. As mentioned, he only just made his major league debut last year. He was subpar at the plate overall but seemingly got better as the season progressed. Going into a part-time role and missing reps wouldn’t be ideal for the long term, especially if he’s to take over for Hoerner at second base a year from now. Finding a way for him to take 400 to 600 plate appearances, even though he doesn’t have a clear position, would be good for both him and the club.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
Use him as trade bait.
No. Keep Hoerner and Shaw. Try to extend Hoerner. Ballesteros is not catching even an inning except if there is a sudden injury or extra innings, Kelly and Amaya are there, Ballesteros is a DH only with a small chance of eventually getting a few 1B reps.
Keep them all. DH Bregman against lefties, he spells Dansby (Nico at short), Nico, and PCA.
Trade him to the Pirates,
Pirates throw in a decent relief pitcher
Cubs don’t make that trade.
5 more years of control on a guy who was a first round pick and consensus top 50 prospect and played near gold glove caliber defense last year warrants a better return than a reliever. He is originally from MA so maybe a trade to Boston for a pitcher like Early or Tolle might make sense for both teams.
Take a look at Statcast. Shaw was nowhere near Gold Glove caliber on defense. More like below average with a 45th percentile FRV and even worse range.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/matt-shaw-807…
He was literally the runner up for Gold Glove in his rookie year my dude.
He was literally not very good as the stats attest and I am not your dude.
How the votes in a popularity contest came in are not relevant. What is relevant is his actual performance on the field and that was not Gold Glove caliber or even major league average.
I saw most of Shaw’s innings at third and he was really good. And don’t I see how anyone can say Shaw was a gold glove finalist due to popularity. Really?
He’s a 2B and learned 3B on the fly. He was a little rough early but settled in and looked surprisingly good – If you can parse out his stats second half you would see that. I kinda tracked em and watched him all year like many Cubs fans. Dude, (Shaw, not you) had a great second half.
Argyle, is that you?
Can we look at DRS and FanGraphs defensive rating too? Can we look at with dWAR on baseball reference?
Or are we only allowed to look at Statcast FRV so we will agree with your take?
Also saw all of Shaw’s innings and he was a stud at 3B and could’ve won the gold glove.
Your eyes are lying to you. The StatCast numbers record exactly what Shaw did down to the inch. He was below average 45th percentile means 55% of 3B were better on defense. His range was even worse.
The Gold Glove has been a popularity contest for decades. It is a rarity when the very best defensive player wins and often they either played very little at the position or were very bad on defense but hit extremely well.
In college Shaw was primarily a SS, but played a small number of games at 3B and 2B and a few in LF.
In the minor leagues he was primarily a 3B with 90 games there, 44 at SS, and 34 at 2B.
He is definitely not learning 3B on the fly. It has been his primary position in 2024 and 2025.
His numbers were exactly the same in the first half and second half. A -1 FRV.
Assumes, sure. As long as you also want to take their WAR into account. He had a 1.5 fWAR which means he was a below average player overall. His defensive WAR was 1.6 which is below MLB average.
16, which is why you don’t have a job judging talent. He was below average.
Only Ke’Bryan had more defensive runs saved in the NL in 2025 than Matt Shaw. In way less playing time Shaw had 12. One of the gold standards is Chapman. He had only 5. Machado had only 3. You cherry pick your stats all you want amigo.
I like the idea, though I doubt Shaw’s hometown has much to do with where he might get traded. He’s doesn’t have a say so.
5 years of control of a utility player. If the Cubs didn’t think he was worth playing, don’t expect a return that values him as a starter. He just became the next Gavin Lux. Lets move him to the outfield!
Ridiculous undervaluing of a player who’s been in thew top 5 of their farm system and started at third for a 92 win team last season. Lux couldn’t shine his shoes.
Nice, taking a page from the Astros book are you?
I hope I’m wrong but I still think they’ll have to trade Nico so they can get back under the luxury tax. I know that Ricketts is cheap plus Nico is a FA after the season and they’re not going to sign him anyway. Problem is, if they do trade him and if Shaw doesn’t hit then Cubs undo much of the gains they made with the Bregman signing.
They’re already under the tax because of the deferred money.
You should listen to the press conference. I think it will give you some peace of mind about them needing to cut payroll
They can also make a qualifying offer to Nico at year end.
Keep Hoerner and try to extend him. He’s a quality major leaguer in his prime. Keeping Shaw as his potential replacement is silly—Shaw has yet to prove anything. And the Cubs can’t count on keeping Bregman past his first year. Think of that scenario: trade Hoerner, Shaw flames out, and Bregman opts out. Now what?
I don’t think Bergman’s deal has opt outs. Full no trade protection and length. He wanted a long term deal over high AV with opt outs. This is likely his final contract. Cubs would consider trading Shaw for an MLB caliber SP with control they can slot into the rotation as soon as this season. They have a ton of guys and money coming off the books next year, but they could have a very low cost quality rotation allowing them to sign FAs to fill out the holes. I could see them resigning Nico. Hoyer loves him and he has expressed interest in staying in Chicago. Plus FA class next year isn’t great and Nico tops it.
If the Cubs are serious about Shaw being a utility player this year, they should option him to begin the year for a couple, three weeks so he can get some playing time at OF/maybe SS is a less pressure filled environment.
Assuming big addition refers bregmans contract and not his potential impact on the team
I would have considered him to start at shortstop, at first. Have him compete with Dansby for the starting job in Spring
Bux, you are kidding right? That had to be sarcasm.
From my perspective, not being a Cubs fan, from the outside, Dansby’s stats dropped a lot last season. The Cubs intend to use Shaw as a utility back-up otherwise
I am an Angels fan so my perspective is from outside looking in also. Swanson had a 4.5 WAR and his defense was 85th percentile. Hard to replace that and Shaw certainly can’t. The core surgery he had after the 2024 season seemed to affect him some on the field and definitely on his follow through at the plate. His bat speed suffered and with it so did his ability to adjust to offspeed pitches. I think you will see him rebound but even 4.5 WAR is exceptionally good. All Star level play.
Dansby’s contract is his protection. Some forget that he’s overpaid as well
Swanson has 13.6 WAR over the last 3 season which has provided the Cubs with more than $128 million in value.
In what way is he overpaid when he has earned $71 million including his $7 million signing bonus since he signed with the Cubs in December 2022? To me it looks like he has provided an incredible value. $57-58 million more value than they have paid him.
Please explain to those of us who are haterade-free why you think he is overpaid.
Out in left
You need to make a profit in the earlier years sometime to offset the latter years when the player has aged.
Even taking that into account, Swanson is projected to earn his contract.
Snickers or get some, you are coming on a little strong my dude…
Dansby has not been a good hitter since coming to the Cubs. 240 avg and 20 homers per year isn’t special. I watched a ton of games, and he was the opposite of clutch. He should and will be batting in the bottom third of the lineup
@Seanie yup his clutch stat and win probability added are both negative in his three seasons with Cubs. WPA is negative but WAR is positive imma hafta do some research on how that works, new fangled stats and all… your watching is backed up by the new fangled stats
MLB, by a bunch. If he has just 1 WAR per season for the next 4 years, the Cubs still are in the black by about $7 million if there is no salary inflation.
In the last 12 months cubs traded cam smith, owen caissie & now blocked shaw from a starting job
Why do they hate elite young players so much?
What elite young players?
Steinbrenner
I often agree with you. But a “chandlerbing” comment is not so much “without thinking” as it is “purposefully trolling”.
@chandlerbing: Point taken, but I don’t think any of those three has shown they are elite, at least not yet
The only reason to trade impending free agents is if the team is rebuilding or if the team is expecting to contend to get players that make your team better right now than the player they are trading would make them.
It is doubtful that the Cubs can get 5-6 WAR in value in return for a single year of Hoerner.
Shaw is totally different. The team has 5+ years of team control and he has flexibility. He could be traded and the Cubs easily get 1.5-2.0 WAR contribution in 2026 from the players they get in return and those players may better fit the Cubs needs now. the Cubs also have prospects near MLB ready that can fill the hole at 2B in 2027 if they are unable to extend Hoerner.
I doubt they trade either, but if one is going to go, Shaw is the guy.
Shaw would be 4th OF & backup 3B & 2B
And likely DH quite a bit
Suzuki and Ballesteros are the primary DH.
This reply seems more like projection.
My fellow Cubs fans and I would be livid if Hoerner is traded. He is exactly the type of player you should be bending over backwards to try and extend. Of course, there are plenty of casual fans who don’t realize what a hard worker Nico is behind the scenes. But we real fans could never be that ignorant.
“But we real fans could never be that ignorant.”
Winner of the MLBTR Pompous Arrogant Pat Yerself on the Back Award for 1/15/26. Congrats!
I wouldn’t be livid however they would need to still add a bat. If they trade Nico and signed belly I could live with it.
Extend 5/$75M?
BS. Nico getting traded to SF they’re just driving up the price
Once the offer goes up to Logan Webb, Cubs fans will listen. 🤣🤣🤣
For Logan Webb straight up?
Or Lee and Bailey?
How about our top international prospect and Birdsong?
I am thinking Hoyer laughs hysterically and says, “Seriously Buster, who will you send us to replace Nico’s 6 WAR?”.
Josuar Gonzalez and Birdsong would be a fair offer from SF to Cardinals for Donovan as Cardinals do not intend to compete. But Cubs would be looking for pieces that make them better on 2026, and SF does not have any such pieces other than Webb and arguably Ray.
Inevitable injuries throughout season will get versatile depth guys on the field plenty.
Is Shaw really versatile or someone that’s getting square pegged into that round hole?
Shaw = Trade or Fish Bait?
Doesn’t Shaw have options? I can see them sending him down. Bregman hasn’t been the healthiest of guys. He either is on the shuttle or maybe a big trade is coming for Shaw.
Shaw has 2 options remaining…
Trading. Shaw makes no sense. Depth is a good problem to have
Any real chance the Cubs have of competing is getting another ace. Yeah Steele is comin back and they have 5 starters already but, get another ace and you don’t have to rush Steele back, push Rae and Boyd into long relief. There’s never been a team in MLB history who said they have too much pitching. Look at the Dodgers last year. They went thru multiple pitchers. The Cubs are certainly good enough to win the central. But thats it. The team standing in the Cubs way of a World Series is the Dodgers. And they have pitching on top of pitching. That’ll be a tough team to beat as the Cubs are currently constructed.
Sounds like they need to make an offer for Skubal!
Not worth it for a rental .it’s just not when he’s likely 100% testing Free agency…his number to start with is a 3 and it may end up starting with a 4..which is insane for a 29 year old pitcher
Kind of like it wasn’t worth it for a rental last year when you got 29 year old Tucker who just signed with the evil empire in LA? Wanna keep up with the Dodgers, then pay up for the back to back Cy Young winner before the Dodgers get him too.
Tucker was 28 when the Cubs got him. He turns 29 tomorrow
My bad. LA gave him a nice birthday gift 😉
Boyd had a 3.21 ERA in 180 IP and you want to push him into the pen?
Boyd is awesome but not in the same conversation as Skubal.
No way the Giants, Yankees or anyone else will come up with a package overwhelming enough for 1 year of Nico. He and Shaw will both be Cubs this season.
I think it’s interesting that the article says Amaya is the backup catcher. Contrary to the old saw, he seems to have “lost his job to injuries.” Beyond that, I have noticed that certain players who are prominent to a team’s fans, for whatever reason, just don’t get noticed nationally. I think Amaya is one of those; fans outside of Chicago, to the extent they are aware of him at all, think of him as a fringe player who has sometimes been on the Cubs roster because they don’t have anyone better.
It is also interesting that Suzuki is seen as a guy who could get some time in right field–when he is in fact the right fielder, as he has been for most of his Cubs career. (His defense gets a bad rap, btw; it is perfectly OK.)
As for Shaw getting some playing time in the outfield, sure, I suppose he could do it. But the Cubs got Bregman because they are not sold on Shaw being a major-league hitter. He is a second-stringer now, until he proves otherwise.
Suzuki played 102 games at DH last year vs just 32 in RF. This offseason Hoyer has said on several occasions that Suzuki would be the primary DH this season but could see some time in the OF like last season.
As for his defense, its a -8 FRV for his time with the Cubs. 31st percentile for 2022-2025. It is not ok. That is really bad.
I do agree about Shaw. He has been demoted to utility player. Unless there is an injury he won’t be a starter for the Cubs before 2027 at the soonest. He has a year to prove he can step in at 2B. Until then he needs to buy more gloves.
Once Seiya took over in RF later in the season when Tucker was out, he looked better out there than Tucker. You can post all the nfg, frv, msg and sol you want. But did you watch the games?
You gotta stick to the stat that supports your narrative! If the FRV say bad fielder, stick with FRV…And only look at 2025…
He’d be better than Shaw in RF
Cubs signed Bregman to win now, so trading Hoerner doesn’t make sense. With only this season of club control left, only contending teams are going to be interested in a trade, and contending teams are not going to offer things to help the Cubs win now. Sure, they might get a decent prospect package for Hoerner, but then why sign Bregman?
This makes sense. It doesn’t look like they are deep enough on the infield internally to just trade good players away. But gosh that team has a lot of players who really struggle when they don’t have the platoon advantage. Even Happ as a switch hitter has wide platoon splits. It doesn’t feel like a loss to give Swanson or Hoerner days off against righties, but I don’t think any of the righty infielders are going to take days off against left handed pitching. If Shaw’s speed can translate to CF, PCA could sit against lefties. Even if Shaw can only play a corner, it seems like the pieces work to have him play the OF against lefties. Teams don’t have 9 starters and 4 bench players. The whole roster gets used. He could probably still get 400+ PAs projecting as a “bench” player. Especially if you feel fine putting him out on the grass.
The struggles of all of Shaw, Swanson, and Hoerner against same sided pitching really makes the Bregman addition look not just sensible, but almost necessary. Maybe a platoony lefty infielder like Donovan is all they really needed and would have fit Shaw into a more clear role, but they already profile to have platoons elsewhere so an everyday guy like Bregman made a lot of sense. I’m still wary of the park fit for Bregman though. But that’s another discussion.
Some solid analysis, nice job. I was looking at the current 40-man roster and some of the AAA guys. My biggest concern is CF. If PCA goes into a tailspin or gets hurt, who plays CF? I have doubts that Shaw can do it, but that would be massive if he could.
Justin Dean will not be on the bench unless they have totally given up on Kevin Alcantara.
If Shaw can play a passable LF, then you can start him against some LHP as well as when Happ needs a day off.
Dean starts in Iowa. Alcantara is out of options. Either traded in spring training or ends up the 13th man.
He has to actually make the minor league team .
Alcantara will be DFA’d in ST. Expect the Cubs to sign an outfielder who is more Hoyer’s type of player to be the 13th position player.
@Alan53: What exactly is Hoyer’s “type” of player?
@Strunk: People get mad when I say the obvious, so I won’t say it. Maybe someone else will tell you.
No one mentioned Ben Zobrist. A key cog to the 2016 championship. If Shaw ends up like Zobrist it’s a huge win for the team.
Use him as a Zobrist swiss Army knife..then extend Nico ..
If Matt Shaw was so great, they wouldn’t have brought in Bregman to replace him.
The days of requiring a team of focused on just 9 players are gone. Having a strong bench and the ability to bring in a strong replacement to cover injuries, dips in form, and rest days is incredibly valuable.
I would not be surprised if Shaw plays a substantial number of games next season even with Hoerner and Bregman as first choice 2B and 3B respectively.
Last year Shaw went thru 4 BATTING STANCES! He needs this winter and spring to figure it out. Also, he may need to figure it out in the minors.