The Chicago Cubs struggles at third base continued in their extra inning loss at home against the Phillies on Sunday. In the tenth inning, Vidal Brujan chose to back up on a ground ball off the bat of Trea Turner that came back to bite him as Turner beat the throw to first. This allowed another run in extras to come across for Philadelphia on their way to a 3-1 victory.
The Phillies took the series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs in which Chicago had a promising start to the three-game set on Friday. Colin Rea was fantastic in another scoreless start as the Cubs shutout Philadelphia, 4-0. For the most part in this weekend series, the bullpen had things under control. The relief pitching and hot corner have been the two biggest issues this season, and those both were once again on full display on Sunday.
Despite the offense not providing much run support for Jameson Taillon who tossed seven innings and allowed just one run, it was Julian Merrywheather who walked three batters in the tenth inning to set up that infield single from Turner to make it a two-run game.
While the bullpen remains in flux through the first month of the season, the Cubs front office should stand pat with their decision in keeping their top prospect down at the Triple-A level. Just because things are rough at the hot corner right now, it doesn’t mean they should make a rash decision in calling him up to potentially hurt his development.
The Chicago Cubs should not panic in calling up Matt Shaw
Even though things have been rough since the Cubs sent down Matt Shaw to Triple-A a couple of weeks ago, they should still keep him at that level while he continues to work on things at the plate. Shaw hit .172 with a .535 OPS in 18 games during his first big league stint. He had one homer (which came off the bench) and three runs driven in. He struck out 18 times in 58 at-bats, proving that something just wasn’t right for him in the box when getting his first look at big league pitching.
Shaw hasn’t been much better at the plate in his short time with the I-Cubs. The former first-round pick is hitting .192 in 26 at-bats across his seven games with the club and hit his first homer of the year with them over the weekend. This proves that Shaw should not be rushed back up to the show, regardless of how big the need is at third base. His development is vital to the team’s future, and that should not be sacrificed whatsoever.
Matt Shaw could have a new veteran counterpart in the show
An alternative that the Cubs front office could look at to try and fix the third base position in the short term is on the trade market. They could look to a guy like Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies as an option to pursue if things continue to go down a rough path at the position. McMahon has been consistent for Colorado over the past few seasons and would be a big time improvement at the plate for the middle of the Cubs order.
Although his contract could be an issue and he hasn’t had the best start to the 2025 campaign, McMahon wouldn’t block Shaw in the long run. With McMahon being a left-handed bat, it could allow Shaw to ease into big league life at a steadier pace as a platoon guy when he is ready if this is the path that the franchise were to go down.
Chicago Cubs loss shined a light on team’s glaring weaknesses
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