Shaw making impact early as Cubs' super sub

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO – Matt Shaw was not sure how it was all going to play out for him after the Cubs signed star third baseman Alex Bregman over the winter. Once the trade rumors faded, Shaw still had to solve how he fit into the roster puzzle.

As he adjusted to life as a super utility man in the spring, Shaw had to learn what size glove to obtain for the outfield. He had to borrow a first-base glove when the Cubs added that position to the pile. At the same time, Shaw was working on swing adjustments with the goal of achieving more consistency.

Roughly a month into this season, it has become clearer how Shaw is being utilized.

“It’s definitely good to know,” Shaw said. “It definitely was an adjustment figuring out my routines and things like that, but I feel like I’m in a good place now. … It’s nice coming to the park knowing about what it’s going to look like for that given day.”

For the most part, Shaw can look ahead to when a lefty is on the mound for an opposing team and plan on being in the starting lineup. He has appeared in games in right field (13 games/11 starts), first base (two games/one start), second base (two games/one start), third base (two starts) and center (one start).

Shaw has been in the lineup 16 times and entered as a substitute nine times, including seven pinch-hit appearances. With a deeper bench, manager Craig Counsell has been able to be aggressive with in-game maneuvering, and Shaw plays a key role not only for his skill as a hitter, but a defensive option all over the diamond.

So far, Shaw has handled the new role well and thrived offensively in the process.

“Matt showed in Spring Training, to me,” Counsell said, “that he was going to succeed in this role by kind of the way he took to everything we put in front of him. I don’t know if I’m really surprised by that. I think Matt passed that test for me in Spring Training. There’s still new things being put in front of Matt. And by nature, too – I mean, he’s a young player – there’s going to be new things put in front of you as a young player.

“I think it’s gone as expected and kind of as we thought. I think the playing time has kind of been as expected. We’ll have injuries that will put him into more playing time – I’m sure of that. But so far, so good.”

Through his first 25 games, the 24-year-old Shaw is batting .308 as a sub and .286 in his pinch-hit appearances, while slashing .286/.333/.460 with two homers, five doubles and nine RBIs overall. That comes after he posted an .839 OPS with 11 home runs in the second half last season.

Beyond restructuring his daily routine based on whether he starts or comes off the bench – moving his program to mid-game when he is not in the lineup – Shaw said he has also worked on his mentality in the batter’s box. After being used to being the focal point of an offense for most of his baseball life, Shaw is better understanding the value in being a piece to a larger offensive puzzle within the Cubs’ deep lineup.

“My whole life, I’m hitting third, and you have the pressure naturally from the game,” Shaw said. “I remember when I first got up [to the Majors], they were like, ‘It’s probably a good thing that all this weight is off your shoulders,’ but that was different for me. Now, it’s figuring out how to get myself in the mental space of, ‘This at-bat is important to the team.’

“That’s been probably the biggest thing I’ve learned. I'm reminding myself, ‘This at-bat is important.’ Sometimes, I just need a reason. I had to put myself back into that mindset. Now, I’m back to where I normally am, which is nervous, but excited and ready to go.”