Chicago Cubs News: Opening Day third baseman will be someone not named Matt Shaw

In more ways than one, the development of Matt Shaw will be one of the key storylines of the Chicago Cubs' 2025 season.

After being comfortable trading incumbent starting third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Houston Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, the Cubs all but confirmed Shaw would be the Opening Day third baseman for the 2025 season. Even after the pursuit of Alex Bregman, the Cubs remained steadfast that Shaw was ready for the Major League level.

With all that said, the one player, outside of Nico Hoerner, most likely not be on the Cubs' Opening Day roster when they play the Los Angeles Dodgers is Shaw.

Shaw is dealing with an oblique injury and has yet to make his Cactus League debut for the Cubs this season. In a normal spring training schedule, that wouldn't be a huge deal as a player would still have a month before they need to be ready for Opening Day. This isn't a normal spring training schedule for the Cubs.

Opening Day for the Cubs is technically March 18. This means that a player like Shaw has just over two weeks to not only begin playing Cactus League games but also be ready for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Considering how cautious the Cubs are with the handling of their top prospects, the timing would all but confirm that Shaw will not be the third baseman for the team against the Dodgers in Japan.

Bruce Levine confirmed as much on Tuesday morning during his Spring Training update for 670 The Score.

"There’s no way he’s going to be ready to go there and compete," Levine told Mully and Haugh. "You want him for the other 160 games."

Matt Shaw likely will not be on the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day roster

Shaw isn't on the Cubs' 40-man roster, so the likely scenario would see the team simply assign him to minor-league camp prior to their games against the Dodgers in Japan. After the two games against the Dodgers, the Cubs have another week of exhibition games before resuming their regular-season schedule. Shaw, while not the Opening Day third baseman for the Cubs, could very well be the starter at third base when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 27.