What will the Chicago Cubs do at third base after demoting Matt Shaw? Shaw, one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball, will likely get another opportunity sometime in the near future.
However, the Cubs have to ensure that his confidence isn’t shaken, and that could be a challenging task to accomplish. Sending him down certainly doesn’t help his confidence, but if he can turn it around in Triple-A, the Cubs might be making the right decision.
On the contrary, for a team that has found as much success as the Cubs have at the early start of the season, sitting at 15-10 and in first place in the National League Central, making a trade might be the better idea.
David Schoenfield of ESPN proposed an idea for them to replace Shaw with Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals, the top third baseman believed to be available heading into the summer months. “Alec Bohm is struggling with the Phillies, the Cubs demoted Matt Shaw, the Blue Jays aren’t getting any production at third, the Yankees have only one home run from their third basemen … it’s a long list.
If the Cardinals pay down some of the contract, they could probably find Arenado a new home,” Schoenfield wrote. Arenado had one of his worst seasons yet a year ago, and some were skeptical about trading for him. However, he’s done nothing but swing the bat at a high level over the first few games of the year, posting a 135 OPS+ and two home runs in 91 plate appearances.
Arenado’s power numbers are a bit down compared to previous seasons, as he’s hit 40-plus in three seasons, but he’s still an above-average bat and would be a big help to this Cubs lineup.
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