In recent comments made to the media General Manager of the Chicago Cubs Jed Hoyer stated that Michael Busch will be the starting first basemen.
The Chicago Cubs have made a flurry of moves so far this winter and we haven’t even hit Christmas or the New Year yet. The Cubs roster still has some shaping out to do in order to get it ready for the season, but things are really starting to take shape. Two of those roster question however were answered by GM Jed Hoyer when speaking to the media.
When speaking to the media about the teams recent acquisition of 3x All-Star Kyle Tucker GM Jed Hoyer spoke of other positions on the teams that were in question. One of those questions was, who would play first base? Until yesterday that question still didn’t have an answer until news broke that the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees finally came to an agreement which sent first basemen/outfielder Cody Bellinger over to the big apple.
With Bellinger now off the 26-man roster the question of who will play first base has been answered and that answer is Michael Busch who will be the starter. In his comments Hoyer said of Busch which was provided by 670 The Score:
“We really see Michael as a Gold Glove first baseman,” Hoyer said. “That’s our focus. Can he move around a little bit? Of course. His versatility is great, but he made real strides at first. I thought after the first month of the season, he was fantastic at first. And that’s certainly how we’re seeing him.”
Michael Busch
Michael Busch, who just turned 27, was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Yency Almonte to the Chicago Cubs for Jackson Ferris(minors) and Zyhir Hope (minors). Last year for the Cubs Busch played in 152 games where he had 123 hits, 28 doubles, 2 triples, 21 HRs, 65 RBI, with a slash line of .248/.335/.440 with and OPS and OPS+ of .775 and 118.
Over at first base Busch displayed a .996 fielding percentage for the 2024 season as well as a 5 for defensive runs save. Busch’s splits versus lefties and righties is virtually the same which is really good. A .258 average with a .712 OPS against lefties and a .246 average and .788 OPS versus righties. A valuable option to have at first the Cubs declaring Busch the starter now can only boost his confidence and with a full season under his belt now, the third year infielder looks to take big strides in 2025.
Matt Shaw
When speaking of the organizations top prospect Matt Shaw Jed Hoyer said of him possibly being on the Chicago Cubs roster for 2025:
“He can play second well, he can play third well,” Hoyer said of Shaw’s comfort defensively. “Right now, obviously, we’re going to give him a long look at third after we traded (Isaac) Paredes. Making room for young players is really important. He has to earn that job. I’m not going to gift him that job on a conference call in the middle of December, but certainly with what he’s done in the minor leagues since we’ve had him, he’s played really well.
“His arrow is really pointing up. I do think it’s important – just like we did last year with (Pete Crow-Armstrong) – you’ve got to give young players some runway and some ability to play.”
This has all the indicators that third base is Shaw’s spot to loose. The Cubs appear and according to Jed’s comments really want to start playing their young players who are major league ready. With adding #2 prospect Owen Caissie early in the winter to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and other prospects like Shaw, James Triantos, and Kevin Alcántara (on the roster) all MLB ready it makes sense for the Cubs to do so.
Shaw, who is just 23-years-old split his time between Double and Triple A last season. In 121 games, Shaw had 126 hits, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 21 HRs, 71 RBIs, 31 stolen bases (11 caught stealing), slashing .284/.379/.488/.867. Shaw who is primarily a shortstop (playing 24 total games there) also can play 3rd and 2nd as well where he should see a lot of playing time.
Durning this winter Shaw has the opportunity to play with Team USA in the Premier12 Tournament where he went off the rails. In a Team USA game over the Netherlands Shaw managed to go 4-5 with 7 RBIs also stealing 2 bases in their route against the Netherlands with a score of 12-2. With those numbers Matt Shaw went on to tie the Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. with driving in 7 runs in a game.
These comments by Jed Hoyer should give the fan base a lot of excitement. Not only are the Chicago Cubs going out and making trades to bring in stars like Kyle Tucker, but they’re starting to bring up their young guys to build a core around which teams have to do. With players like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Kevin Alcántara already being up on the roster, adding more would be great.
Naturally some will not pan out, but just having the plethora of options to choose from is a great problem to have. Spring Training for the Cubs this year is becoming ever more interesting with the countless story lines flowing through the clubhouse. All in all Shaw has the opportunity to seize third and run with it and Busch has a chance to breakout and hopefully become and All-Star this season.
For More Great Chicago Sports Content
Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
