Matt Shaw's quiet breakout could change everything for Cubs' deadline plans

Chicago Cubs fans have operated under the assumption that the team will attempt to add a third baseman at the trade deadline, and it's hard to blame them. Matt Shaw was supposed to take the position and run with it, but he simply hadn't done so. Now, though, the tides might finally be turning, and that might lead the Cubs to turn their attention elsewhere at the deadline.

Matt Shaw ended his first half in an 0-for-22 rut. It had gotten so bad that he was benched for each of the team's final three games in the first half. Well, since the break, not only has Shaw gone 9-for-18, but he's launched three home runs. The one he hit on Wednesday might be the most impressive of them all, as he turned on a 100 mph fastball.

It's a small sample size, but Shaw might actually be playing his way back into Chicago's 2025 plans.

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There's reason to believe in recent Matt Shaw breakout

Shaw showed signs of a breakout when he was first recalled from Triple-A in mid-May. Shaw had a 17-game stretch immediately in which he hit .339 and had an .879 OPS. Unfortunately, Shaw immediately followed that by recording 10 hits in his next 81 at-bats (.115 batting average) in 28 games, leading to the trade talks involving third basemen getting louder.

Shaw obviously looked good in that stretch, but he hit a total of one home run. He was getting his hits and even had seven doubles, but he wasn't quite hitting the ball with tremendous authority. Now, Shaw has gone deep three times in 18 at-bats since the break. For reference, he had gone yard just twice in 207 at-bats before the break. He looks like a hitter more capable of doing damage.

The Cubs don't need Shaw to be an All-Star - their lineup is extraordinary as is - they just need him to be a starting-caliber third baseman. He's already got tremendous speed and has played strong defense, his bat simply had to improve to justify playing him. Now, he's showing signs that he never had that his bat might finally be here to stay.

Shaw's breakout gives the Cubs reason to focus solely on pitching.

Cubs can narrow trade deadline focus thanks to Matt Shaw's breakout

This Cubs team has needed starting pitching help ever since Justin Steele suffered his season-ending injury. They were going to pursue starting pitching, whether Shaw figured it out or not, but Shaw's emergence allows the Cubs to narrow their focus to only pitching.

Chicago not needing to waste valuable prospect capital by joining a bidding war in an ultra-competitive and thin third-base market is a big deal. They can use that prospect capital to, instead, land one of the few high-end starters that figure to be available and still have some left over to either focus on other needs or simply carry over to the offseason and beyond.