{"id":783977,"date":"2026-07-25T16:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/783977\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T16:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:10:20","slug":"what-were-hearing-about-matt-shaw-and-james-triantos-as-cubs-plan-for-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/783977\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re hearing about Matt Shaw and James Triantos as Cubs plan for trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

PITTSBURGH \u2014 Matt Shaw will not be activated off the injured list before the Aug. 3 trade deadline<\/a>, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed Friday, setting another variable for the club\u2019s plans to bulk up its pitching staff.<\/p>\n

Shaw, a first-round pick in the 2023 draft who developed into a Gold Glove finalist as a rookie third baseman last year, has been sidelined with a sprained left wrist since June 28.<\/p>\n

Shaw was frequently mentioned in trade talks ahead of last year\u2019s deadline, when Cubs executives Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins balked at the prices to acquire an established starting pitcher who would remain under club control for multiple seasons.<\/p>\n

Shaw\u2019s name popped up again during the offseason, particularly after Chicago signed Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract<\/a>. The Boston Red Sox, Bregman\u2019s former team, considered Shaw among a group of potential replacements for the All-Star third baseman.<\/p>\n

Like the Red Sox, the Seattle Mariners are a pitching-centric organization that could match up well with the Cubs, on paper, in terms of trade pieces. As The Athletic previously reported, the Mariners are searching for a right-handed hitter<\/a> who can make an impact.<\/p>\n

Shaw, 24, produced a 3-WAR season last year, largely on the strength of his solid defense and the second-half adjustments that helped him produce 11 home runs and an .839 OPS after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

\n The Cubs signed Alex Bregman to a five-year deal this winter. (Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Shaw also adapted after Bregman took his job, adding to his defensive versatility and organizing his offensive approach. This season, Shaw has received playing time at all three outfield spots, every infield position except for shortstop, and designated hitter. Even without the same consistent at-bats this year, by OPS+, he\u2019s been roughly five points better than the average major-league hitter.<\/p>\n

Before signing Bregman, the Cubs had placed such a high value on Shaw\u2019s future as a two-way third baseman that he was viewed as close to untouchable in trade talks. Given the amount of potential free agents on the current roster, the Cubs aren\u2019t going to give away an established young player, either. It\u2019s also difficult to make an injured player a headliner in a blockbuster deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s healing,\u201d Counsell said before Friday\u2019s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings. \u201cIt\u2019s close. It\u2019s just that the wrist, for hitters, is a little sticky. If it\u2019s not perfect, you\u2019re going to have symptoms. We just got to get past the last little dose of inflammation and get that out of there. And then we should be good to move forward quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

If James Triantos is wondering where he might be playing after the deadline, or what a trade could do for the rest of his career, he didn\u2019t let on while chatting with a small group of reporters at his locker inside PNC Park\u2019s visitors\u2019 clubhouse. He was too excited about the prospect of making his major-league debut.<\/p>\n

The Cubs promoted Triantos from Triple A and optioned Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara back to their Iowa affiliate prior to Friday\u2019s game, hoping to give Triantos some exposure to the major-league level and get Alc\u00e1ntara back into a rhythm with regular playing time.<\/p>\n

Between Shaw (when healthy), Triantos, Alc\u00e1ntara and Pedro Ram\u00edrez, the Cubs appear to have a surplus of overlapping young, versatile players. At a time when 12 of their pitchers are on the injured list and the farm system is lacking high-end pitching talent, something has to give.<\/p>\n

The franchise has also committed more than $600 million to Bregman, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong, who are all signed through at least 2029, and some of those deals run into 2032. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going to control what I can control,\u201d Triantos said. \u201cAnd then when I get an opportunity, go make the most of it and stay present. That\u2019s all I\u2019m trying to do right now. I\u2019m not too worried about all that other stuff. I feel like it would only distract me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Cubs selected Triantos in the second round of the 2021 draft, their evaluation revolved around the idea that the best college hitters looked like this in high school. The upside included Triantos\u2019 decision to reclassify and graduate a year early, and the Cubs bought out his college commitment to North Carolina with a $2.1 million signing bonus.<\/p>\n

Now 23, Triantos made a significant offensive jump during his second Triple-A season, batting .306 with seven home runs, 52 RBIs and a .784 OPS through 88 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI control my attitude,\u201d Triantos said. \u201cI get to play a game I love and get paid for it every single day. You can\u2019t really ask for more than that. This is what I love to do every single day. This is what I eat, sleep, breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having the patience to incorporate young talent and develop players at the major-league level is one of Counsell\u2019s strengths as a manager. Part of that strategy involves rotating certain players between Triple A and the majors with the understanding that their roles will be limited. They are there to learn.<\/p>\n

Counsell doesn\u2019t foresee much playing time for Triantos at second base, third base or left field. If Triantos isn\u2019t traded, he will likely be sent back to Iowa at some point this summer. And if Alc\u00e1ntara isn\u2019t traded, the outfielder will probably be recalled to Wrigley Field later this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is faster,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cYou got to be prepared. There\u2019s a different language that every individual team speaks. And there\u2019s, frankly, more accountability to that, so you get it on a little bit slower basis if you\u2019re not in there every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an experience that we think can be really helpful for (Triantos), for maybe the time when you have to come up and play a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the big idea when the Cubs promoted Ram\u00edrez from Iowa in late May. Except Ram\u00edrez, 22, has looked so polished as a switch-hitter, and so smooth as an infielder, that the club hasn\u2019t sent him back to Des Moines. With the trade deadline approaching, the manager raves about his maturity and baseball IQ in a way that makes you think he will be a keeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s ahead of how you approach situations,\u201d Counsell said, \u201cand that\u2019s really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 Matt Shaw will not be activated off the injured list before the Aug. 3 trade deadline,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[479,363,99],"class_list":["post-783977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}