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<\/p>\nForty-eight hours after learning the Chicago Cubs would have a new starting third baseman by signing Alex Bregman to a five-year contract, Matt Shaw was still digesting the move.<\/p>\n
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Shaw found out about the deal while watching TV when his wife got a notification on her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, you\u2019re kind of looking at it like, \u2018Oh, man, where am I going to play?\u201d Shaw said last week at the Cubs Convention. \u201cAnd you get a little anxious about those things, because the team knows me good enough at this point to know I just want to be prepared when the season comes around. So of course I immediately have questions like, am I going to go here? Am I going to go there?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs plan to move Shaw around the field and also will have him prepare this spring in the outfield to get more experience to give them more depth and options.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been transparent with me, just kind of helping me to understand the role of moving to different positions, giving guys an off day here and there, and I\u2019m pretty excited about it,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cI\u2019ve played a lot of outfield in my life, so I\u2019ll play some outfield, probably back up at a couple different positions in the infield. It\u2019s going to be a unique year, for sure, but something I\u2019m definitely looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs were among the most healthy teams with their starting position players last year with only Kyle Tucker and Miguel Amaya landing on the injured list. The organization is anticipating and preparing for a regression in that area, part of the year-to-year variability with injuries. Although the Cubs could still choose to trade Shaw, potentially for controllable pitching, they see value in having a Gold Glove Award finalist who can play multiple positions while still possessing upside offensively.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFrom a team building perspective, building depth, make sure that your floor doesn\u2019t get too low, typically doesn\u2019t really raise your ceiling and then you\u2019re also making decisions for this year and into the future, too, so they\u2019re things that we\u2019re factoring in with any transaction that comes across our desks and we value depth,\u201d general manager Carter Hawkins said last week at the Cubs Convention. \u201cWe also value our ceiling. I would say we probably value our ceiling more than depth, to be honest, just from a standpoint of we\u2019re in this thing to win championships, and win them year over year. So we\u2019ll factor all those in and obviously allow a lot of alternatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great luxury for 2026, and that status quo is a great alternative for 2026, and that\u2019s something that will factor in as we\u2019re going through the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not needing Shaw as their everyday third baseman could have a ripple effect with second baseman Nico Hoerner. The Cubs have made clear how much they value Hoerner. His low strikeout rate and bat-to-ball skills give their lineup a needed different look to complement Gold Glove defense, let alone the leadership he brings. Hoerner, who turns 29 in May, is also in the final season of the three-year contract extension he signed and is set to earn $12 million.<\/p>\n
The Cubs are projected to be roughly $3 million under the first competitive balance tax threshold, and the front office does not appear to be required avoid going over it in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, with where we are in our window, it\u2019s probably less of a consideration than it has been in prior years,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that we\u2019re going to be over or under, but I would think it\u2019s fair to say it\u2019s less of a consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cThat factors into how much of a consideration it is,\u201d Hawkins added, in regards to unknowns of the next collective bargaining agreement. \u201cCertainly not going all in on that they\u2019re not going to be penalties or anything of that nature, but just the unknown of what those might be into the future, I think, definitely plays into some of our decisions. But we\u2019ll be mindful of it. I\u2019m mindful of it right now. We\u2019ll be mindful of it during the season but probably less of a consideration than years past.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoerner isn\u2019t worrying about any trade speculation or his future in Chicago. He considers that part of the territory because he is close to free agency and doesn\u2019t have a no-trade clause. As for whether he is interested in another contract extension, Hoerner, echoing president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, said any conversations relating to that would stay internal.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, above all, just remembering that it\u2019s not personal thing, and that the team\u2019s job is to always make the best possible roster that they have the ability to do for this year and for years to come,\u201d Hoerner said last week. \u201cAnd looking at the things that we\u2019ve done this offseason, that\u2019s pretty evident. That\u2019s their goal, and we\u2019re in a really strong place.<\/p>\n \u201cTrade rumors always make you reflect, and anything that kind of makes you question things is usually healthy. But I absolutely love the Cubs, and I\u2019m really grateful to be here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Forty-eight hours after learning the Chicago Cubs would have a new starting third baseman by signing Alex Bregman to a five-year contract, Matt Shaw was still digesting… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":144816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CTC-CUBS-CONVENTION-011726-21_258364058.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
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