Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw was officially put on the hot seat before the team’s contest against the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins told the “Rahimi & Harris Show” on 670 The Score that the team was “looking into” finding an option to replace Shaw as the starting third baseman this season.
“You look around the league at young hitters that are going to play really, really well that aren’t currently just haven’t made the adjustment yet to the league. You saw what happened with Pete (Crow-Armstrong) last year. We fully expect that to be Matt as he continues to make adjustments.
“But we’re also at some critical times right now where development can’t be the focus on our major league club. So it’s something that we’ll be looking into. But we have a lot of confidence in Matt Shaw and his ability to be a great player for us moving forward.”
The Chicago Cubs are trying to be patient with Matt Shaw
Shaw struggled early in the season, prompting the Cubs to send the rookie down to Triple-A in April. He had a brief hot streak when he returned to the majors, but is batting .198 with two home runs and 15 RBI for the season.
Chicago wants to compete for a World Series, and they know that third base is the weak link for the offense.
Hawkins believes Shaw will eventually become a solid hitter, but is also weighing the fact that the Cubs need more offense out of their third baseman in the lineup.
“You go to baseball reference and you got 0.9 B war or something like that, which is which is not nothing,” Hawkins said. “And it’s certainly something that’s helped us win some games in some certain places. But obviously, offensively, we want more out of that position.
“And that could just be Matt, right? Like Matt, we feel really strongly about his bat. We think that he’s going to be a good hitter.”
Shaw has not recorded a hit since July 2, going without a hit in his last eight outings.
For More Chicago Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks
Report: Chicago Cubs exploring multi-player trades with A’s, Diamondbacks, others
Read MoreFor More Great Chicago Sports Content
Get the latest Chicago sports news, analysis, and breaking stories on the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Sky, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, so you never miss a story on your favorite Chicago teams.
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
