The Chicago Cubs are pretty much set at every position headed into the 2025 season, except third base.
The team traded away third basemen Isaac Paredes earlier this month to the Houston Astros in the deal for outfielder Kyle Tucker. The Cubs had acquired Paredes last season from the Tampa Bay Rays, near the trade deadline, in a deal for Christopher Morel and a pair of prospects.
Paredes, however, failed to impress, batting .223 and hitting just 3 home runs in 212 plate appearances. His unhappiness at the plate spread over to his defense and, ultimately, made him an expendable asset headed into the 2025 season.
A Chicago Cubs Trade For Tampa Bay Third Baseman?
Now, it’s being proposed that Chicago acquire Paredes’ third base replacement in Tampa Bay.
In a trade proposed by Drew VonScio of Newsweek, the Cubs would bring aboard 33-year-old Yandy Diaz from the Rays.
The deal, per VonScio, would see the Cubs sending over shortstop prospect Jefferson Rojas (The team’s no. 7 top prospect) and outfielder Brett Bateman (The team’s No. 16 prospect) in exchange for the 8-year veteran.
What Yandy Diaz Can Do
Diaz, who can play first base as well as third, has shown himself to have a steady bat and is just one year removed from winning the AL batting battle with a .330 average. Last season, he batted .280 and hit 14 home runs.
Passable defensively, Diaz is durable and could be a safe plug-and-play option for the Cubs, also giving the team a much-needed backup to Michael Busch at first place.
Although Alex Bregman is still on the market as a free agent and Nolan Arenado, at least in theory, is available via trade, Chicago is not expected to explore either option, despite a big question mark at third base.
Chicago Cubs May Opt “In House”
The plan of attack for the Cubs’ front office, though, appears to be a reach inside their own system for a full-time third baseman. The leading candidate for the big league opportunity is their no. prospect Matt Shaw.
The 23-year-old Shaw, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2023, made his way to the top of the organization very quickly with a silver bat that has found success everywhere he’s played. His hitting prowess earned him a no.22 spot in MLB.com’s Top 100 list of prospects. He also punched his way on to the All-World team as a member of Team USA in November after absolutely killing the ball at the Premier 12 Tournament.
The one half-knock on Shaw is that his defense is not stellar at any particular position. He’s worked hard at that part of his game, however, and has shown improvement. Chicago had positioned him as a possible full-time third baseman and had him playing most of his time at that position last season in the minors. Even if his defense is passable, Shaw should get every opportunity to win the major league gig at third.
Per Evan Altman of Cubs Insider:
“Matt Shaw is the Cubs’ best prospect since Kris Bryant and will get a “long look” at third base during spring training to see if he can do what his predecessor couldn’t: break camp with the big club…Shaw looks like the odds-on favorite to be the everyday third baseman on the North Side and he carries some lofty projections as such.”
So, apparently, dealing for Yandy Diaz may not be the way Chicago decides to go. It IS an option, though, even well into the season if Shaw fails to deliver on his promise.
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