Baseball, at its core, is a game of patience—and timing. For Matt Shaw, the wait has lasted just under two months, but the journey has felt longer. Chicago’s top position prospect is returning to the big leagues, called back by a Cubs team still searching for consistency at third base and for a spark in the heart of a pennant race. Shaw’s first taste of the majors was bitter. His second? The Cubs believe it can be different. Because this time, the swing is simpler. The moment, perhaps, more manageable. And the belief—still very much alive.
REPORT: Cubs prospect Matt Shaw is being called up, per @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/Xm0z4AQsc4
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 19, 2025
From Setback to Swing Change: Shaw’s Second Chance
In mid-April, the numbers told a difficult truth. One home run. Three RBIs. Eighteen strikeouts in 58 plate appearances. For Matt Shaw, the early returns on his major league debut were not just underwhelming—they were unfamiliar. The game that had come so naturally through college and the minors had turned, suddenly, into a mirror of adjustments.
Shaw was sent back to Triple-A Iowa. Not to disappear, but to rebuild.
The focus was mechanical. The leg kick was shortened. The intent, simplified. And then the swing started to match the promise. Over 24 games in Iowa, Shaw batted .286 with six home runs and an OPS over .950. More importantly, the ball was coming off his bat with purpose again—driven to all fields, lifted with authority, and landing where defenses couldn’t reach.
Matt Shaw has 5 HR in his last 35 PA at Iowa. Has his swing changed since being sent down?
Not much — swing mechanics look similar (left: yesterday, right: with Cubs).
But one subtle difference: his posture appears to be more upright now. Could be a tweak to help with feel… pic.twitter.com/9XH9FQVrkN
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) May 17, 2025
“He had gotten a little passive,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said. “Now he’s driving the baseball again.”
Baseball doesn’t offer guarantees, just opportunities. And for Shaw, the second one arrives with fewer expectations but perhaps a stronger sense of self.
A Struggling Spot in a Contending Lineup
If Matt Shaw’s bat can match the belief, the Cubs may finally find answers in a place that’s only produced questions.
Third base has been a void. No home runs. A .184 average. An OPS that ranks among the worst in baseball. Chicago has relied on Jon Berti and Nicky Lopez—players whose gloves provide steadiness, but whose bats have not offered much else.
The team holds a slim lead in the National League Central. And in a division where every game could matter, they need production—not just stability. Shaw brings that possibility. He also brings energy. Confidence. The quiet urgency of a player who knows what it means to be sent down and to earn his way back.
Lopez, by all indications, did not travel with the team to Miami. He is expected to be traded or designated for assignment. It’s a difficult moment for a veteran. But baseball is often a game of timing, and Shaw’s timing—after a month of adjustment—now feels right.
He won’t be asked to carry the offense. He’ll be asked to contribute. To compete. And maybe, to remind the Cubs of what they saw when they called his name on draft day.
The Road Back Begins on the Road
Fittingly, Shaw’s return won’t begin under the lights of Wrigley, but far from home—in the echo of visitor dugouts in Miami and Cincinnati.
This road trip is more than just games for the Cubs. It’s an early-season hinge point. And it’s where Shaw begins again.
For a 23-year-old, this is the job’s dual nature: celebrated prospect one moment, demoted student the next. But Shaw has handled both with the kind of professionalism that resonates beyond numbers.
He wasn’t bitter when he was sent down. He went to work. He listened. He changed.
Matt Shaw made it to Miami 😎 pic.twitter.com/cYSaHu3JrG
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 19, 2025
Now, he returns not as a savior, but as a spark. And in the quiet between innings, in the swing that now comes with less lift but more purpose, the Cubs are hoping to find what they’ve been missing.
Maybe it’s not about how a season starts.
Maybe it’s about how it resets.
