The Cubs aren\u2019t likely to drastically alter their trade-deadline plans because Matt Shaw had a few good games at the plate.<\/p>\n
But it was a positive start to the second half for the rookie third baseman, who launched a pinch-hit home run Saturday and banged out four hits during the three-game weekend series against the Red Sox.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had two really nice days at the plate after the All-Star break, and that\u2019s huge, get a player going, get the confidence [going] as much as anything,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said after the game Saturday. \u201cYou put in some work, you try to make some adjustments, you see results from those adjustments, that builds confidence, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaw was feeling good Saturday night, happy to have the All-Star break as a chance to reset. He started Friday for the first time in more than a week after Counsell had kept him out of the starting lineup for all three games against the Yankees in the Cubs\u2019 last series of the first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to reset is huge,\u201d Shaw said Saturday. \u201cThe break was really a nice time to kind of relax, take a deep breath and reset a little bit, relook at myself and my motivations and all those things for this year. It was really nice. I feel really ready being back.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day, I\u2019m just trying to come with a good attitude and be ready to play. It comes when it comes. It\u2019s different for every guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaw carried a ghastly .198 batting average and a .556 OPS into the break, prompting reasonable questions about whether Jed Hoyer\u2019s front office would add finding a third baseman to its to-do list ahead of the trade deadline at the end of July.<\/p>\n
Hoyer didn\u2019t come right out and say it when he spoke before the game Friday, but he can do what everyone else can: identify the one position that has been a hole in the Cubs\u2019 otherwise productive lineup. Coming into Sunday, Shaw ranked last in the majors with a .534 OPS.<\/p>\n
Shaw, who made the Opening Day roster but was sent down to Triple-A in mid-April before returning a month later, has sparkled defensively while struggling at the plate. The Cubs, after the 232 plate appearances Shaw had in the first half \u2014 164 of which came after his return from the minors \u2014 wouldn\u2019t figure to make a 180 degree turn solely based on the seven plate appearances he had, however successful, against the Red Sox this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019d make those observations after two days, decisions like that after two days,\u201d Counsell said Sunday. \u201cYou\u2019re always encouraged more so by the confidence it gives a player. And then you have to let that play out over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Shaw, who earlier this year ranked as one of the best prospects in baseball, obviously is still the Cubs\u2019 long-term plan at the hot corner, opportunities to win the World Series don\u2019t come around often, and a deadline deal that might bring in someone to temporarily supplant Shaw could boost the team\u2019s championship chances.<\/p>\n
But much like Hoyer was mum Friday, Counsell, too, isn\u2019t revealing anything about any potential changes that might arrive by the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt\u2019s getting a great chance to play,\u2019\u2019 Counsell said. \u2018\u2018He\u2019s going to continue to get a chance to play. But I don\u2019t think any evaluation is ever made [based] on two days. [Development is] messy, and it\u2019s uneven, and it\u2019s not a straight line. You just keep trying. The player keeps working; the coaches keep coaching. You enjoy the successes and sleep good at night, but it never stops.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur path with Matt Shaw is: Matt\u2019s going to play a lot of third base for us. That\u2019s the plan. We\u2019re going to keep trying to help him get better, and nothing about the schedule or the calendar affects that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The rookie third baseman came out of the All-Star break with four hits, including a homer, in three games against the Red Sox, but is that enough to keep the Cubs from shopping for a third baseman?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":70106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n