Cubs manager Craig Counsell offers blunt assessment of Matt Shaw's first two games

After the Chicago Cubs fell well short in their late-winter pursuit of Alex Bregman, the third base job belonged to top prospect Matt Shaw. The former first-round pick made the trip to Japan with the team, making his MLB debut in the Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this week.

It was a forgettable debut on Tuesday, with Shaw going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. A throwing error also loomed large as the Cubs turned in a sloppy performance as a team on both sides of the ball, committing a pair of critical throwing errors and going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

He followed it up with a 1-for-5 showing the next day, but even the hit wasn't exactly how you envision your first big-league knock. Shaw hit a comebacker to the mound and Dodgers left-hander Jack Dreyer misplayed it, with the ball bouncing off his glove and rolling toward the third-base line. It easily could have been scored an error, but the official scorer credited the Cubs rookie with a hit instead.

Hit or no hit, though, Shaw wasn't much of a factor at the plate - and Craig Counsell was direct in his assessment of his at-bats after the game, but also praised his bouncing back and having a nice day defensively at third after making that error in the opener.

“I don’t think he swung the bat well this series,” Counsell said. “It was an important day defensively to come back and make some plays. Look, it’s two games. The defense is an important thing for him to show us and improve on. And today was a good step in that direction.”

The hit tool is the one thing nobody seems worried about translating to the big stage. Shaw has hit everywhere he's been and the expectation is that will continue with the Cubs in 2025. Again, it's way too soon to issue any sort of judgment on Shaw (or any player, for that matter) - but it's still a comment worth nothing.

In addition to Counsell praising his defense in the second game, veteran shortstop Dansby Swanson also had good things to say about Shaw - something you love hearing from one of the game's elite defensive infielders.

“Good players are able to make adjustments quickly. Good players can correct mistakes or any of the little things. We had a conversation about that play from yesterday. To see him be able to make a similar play … today speaks volumes about who he is as a ballplayer.”

The takeaway - and, really, it's not something we didn't already know: for Shaw to stick, he'll have to hit this season. He'll have a long leash while learning on the job defensively, but the Cubs will need him to counter those bumps in the road with the glove by performing well with the bat.