What looked like a small add-on in the Cubs’ trade with the New York Mets may end up carrying a lot more weight now that Matt Shaw’s return is still not close.
Shaw, who went on the IL at the end of June with a wrist sprain, is only now starting to make real headway. Craig Counsell said over the weekend that Shaw has resumed swinging, but the timeline is still measured in weeks, not days.
“We’re making progress, it’s just slow progress - it’s slower than we would like and than Matt would like,” Counsell told reporters. “But it’s going in the right direction, just a lot more slowly than we would have hoped and thought. And so we’ve just got to be a little patient and not push it to a place that does something to the negative, so that’s just where we’re at.”
That update matters because Shaw’s injury hit at the exact moment he seemed poised to settle into the Cubs’ everyday lineup. He had already missed time earlier with a back injury, but after returning he was giving the club something real: 9 hits in 43 plate appearances, three extra-base hits, and a 141 wRC+.
His value wasn’t limited to the bat, either. Shaw’s ability to move around the field gave the Cubs more options, and Pedro Ramirez has helped cover that absence. But Shaw’s uncertain status also helps explain why Chicago made sure to bring in Tyrone Taylor last week.
According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Counsell told Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins before the deadline that the Cubs needed a right-handed bat for the bench, and the front office answered by adding the former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder.
That move looks even more relevant now. If Shaw had been healthy over the past month, he might have had a better chance to get more runway in left field, especially with Ian Happ struggling lately. Instead, the expectation is that Taylor will handle regular starts against left-handers in Happ’s place going forward.
The Cubs still need Shaw back. When he’s available, the roster is better and Counsell has more ways to build a lineup. But until then, Taylor may be the deadline piece that matters more than anyone first thought - the kind of move that looked minor at the time and suddenly feels a lot more important.
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