Matt Shaw Taking Reps in the Outfield

7 hours ago, PackLandVA said:

So about Matt Shaw and taking reps in the outfield.  What about him taking some reps at 1B? He's athletic enough. He's 5' 10", so a bit on the short side. But if he hits, it would give the Cubs another option at 1B against LHP. Looks like right now, they're relying on Austin.

He needs to keep working on his hitting and his defense at 3B, SS, and 2B, which isn't light work.  IMO I don't see a reason for him to put work in at 1B given all the other options there.  He could grab a glove and take some reps in CF/OF (which he seems to be doing already thanks to footage someone posted on social media), but I don't see 1B as a position that's going to be needed for him.  At most maybe CF in a pinch.

Between having a short ST due to injury and the early Opening Day in Japan, plus having to significantly retool his stance/approach in the middle of the season (bigger changes than PCA or Amaya were asked to do IMO), plus still learning a relatively new position at the MLB level, I think Shaw was asked to do a lot as a rookie last year, and did an ok job at it.  He still has work to do with his hitting, I worry a bit about his plate coverage, but IMO we don't have much of a grasp on what he can really do at the plate.  He was a very good prospect with a lot of success at every level below the MLB.

4 hours ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

For the record, I don’t like Matt Shaw for obvious reasons. But my inclination to trade him is for baseball reasons. I’d love to see them capitalize on his recent top prospects status and bring in a pitching prospect and then extend Hoerner. Love Nico’s game and I’m not ready to see him go.

Between Nico, Happ, and Seiya, Nico is the one you'd want to extend IMO.  He's the better and the youngest of the three.  He probably gets a 4-5 year deal (probably deserves a bit longer), which is fine, that would make him 33 or 34 when the contract is done, which is decent.  A 4 year deal for Seiya or Happ would start at age 32 through age 35 and you'd expect decline through around half the contract.

The position player pool in free agency is terrible next winter.  Nico looks like the best position player on the market.

On the other hand, at some point you have to give the next generation of players a chance, so i'd have no issues going with Shaw next year.  Letting go of Javy, Bryant, and Rizzo worked out for us.

I don't really see a reason to give him reps at 1b. From what's been glossed so far, Busch has earned at bats from LHP going forward. Against a tough lefty, maybe you give him a day off to rest or be ready for late inning PH duties/defense when Riley gets a rare start. Long is just a phone call away if Busch has to miss some time.

6 hours ago, Stratos said:

Between Nico, Happ, and Seiya, Nico is the one you'd want to extend IMO.  He's the better and the youngest of the three.  He probably gets a 4-5 year deal (probably deserves a bit longer), which is fine, that would make him 33 or 34 when the contract is done, which is decent.  A 4 year deal for Seiya or Happ would start at age 32 through age 35 and you'd expect decline through around half the contract.

The position player pool in free agency is terrible next winter.  Nico looks like the best position player on the market.

On the other hand, at some point you have to give the next generation of players a chance, so i'd have no issues going with Shaw next year.  Letting go of Javy, Bryant, and Rizzo worked out for us.

There’s no internal succession plan for either Happ or Suzuki unless Alcantara blows everyone away and or Comrade rakes in the minors. Outside of trading Shaw for an outfielder with team control I think Suzuki gets an extension. 

13 hours ago, Bull said:

I've been here 20 years, and I've seen so many people get away with so much. This place has devolved into a liberal echo chamber where one sided political discussion is welcomed and saying extremely offensive things against anyone suggesting a moderate or conservative opinion is celebrated.

 That dude was responding to people who came after him and called him names. I haven't always agreed with him, but you banned the wrong person. 

He literally lied about a man who was just murdered in the street of my home city. Stop making excuses, and creating false parallels. Did other people step over the line? Yeah, sure, but not all offenses are equal. Being a rude ass to another user isn't okay. Lying about a peaceful protester who was brutally murdered in our city streets, lying at the behest of an objectively terrible man and administration, is a whole 'nother level of shittiness, one that I long ago promised to never allow to propagate on my websites.

Remember, AGAIN, I'm from Minneapolis. You think this is my first rodeo? You can't even IMAGINE what it was like having to navigate the George Floyd situation, which happened ON TOP of a horsefeathers pandemic. I drew a line back then, and I'm sure as horsefeathers not ever moving that line to make people feel better.

With that said, this thread is now locked for obvious reasons.