Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong started in center field for each of the Cubs’ first 24 games this season. For game No. 25, he’ll get a breather.
PCA was not in Chicago’s starting lineup for Thursday’s game against the Phillies, who are sending left-handed ace Christopher Sánchez to the mound. Crow-Armstrong’s absence appears to be nothing more than a day off, and perhaps it will help him get on track at the plate. Through 93 at-bats this season, Crow-Armstrong is batting .247 with a .633 OPS and just one home run.
Thursday makes sense to give Crow-Armstrong a break. It's a day game after a night game in a stretch of 13 straight without an off-day. Sánchez has also been nasty against left-handed hitters, allowing just a .167 batting average and a .385 OPS.
Matt Shaw, who has played the majority of his games this season in right field, shifts over to center field to replace Crow-Armstrong. It will be Shaw’s first game in center as a pro. The last time he played that position was during summer ball in 2021, two years before the Cubs drafted him out of the University of Maryland with the No. 13 overall pick in the MLB Draft.
Shaw took early fly balls at Wrigley Field on Thursday morning.
“He’s out here right now [pregame] trying to figure it out,” Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty said. “That’s the life of a utility guy and the versatility you add, it helps the team so much.”