Cubs' under-the-radar trade deadline move becomes much more important after Matt Shaw update

When the Chicago Cubs placed Matt Shaw on the IL with a wrist sprain at the end of June, the initial impression was the former first-round pick would miss the minimal amount of time. Fast forward to the second week of August and Shaw is just now making meaningful progress in his recovery.

Craig Counsell confirmed with reporters over the weekend that Shaw has resumed swinging, but is still weeks away from returning.

“We’re making progress, it’s just slow progress — it’s slower than we would like and than Matt would like,” Counsell told reporters. “But it’s going in the right direction, just a lot more slowly than we would have hoped and thought. And so we’ve just got to be a little patient and not push it to a place that does something to the negative, so that’s just where we’re at.”

Shaw's wrist injury happened right when it seemed that he was going to get regular appearances in the Cubs' starting lineup. He was previously sidelined with a back injury, but in his return, he had 9 hits through 43 plate appearances with three extra-base hits and a wRC+ of 141.

Not to mention, Shaw's versatility was an asset for the roster. Pedro Ramirez has helped account for his absence in that regard, and perhaps Shaw's status was the biggest reason behind the Cubs also netting Tyrone Taylor in their trade with the New York Mets last week.

Matt Shaw's uncertainty adds to the importance of Tyrone Taylor's role with the Cubs

It turns out that Taylor was much more than a final piece included in that deal. ESPN's Jesse Rogers noted that Craig Counsell told Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins that the team was in need of a right-handed bat for the bench before the deadline, and the front office responded with the former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder.

In a scenario where Shaw had been healthy over the past month, perhaps he would have gotten more of a runway in left fielder, considering the recent struggles Ian Happ has had. Instead, the expectation is that Taylor will get regular starts against southpaws in place of Happ moving forward.

Now, to be clear, the Cubs still need a healthy Shaw. The Cubs are better with Shaw on their roster, and assuming he's back before October, that gives Counsell more flexibility with his lineup construction. Before then, though, Taylor could prove to be one of the sneakiest moves of the deadline, considering he was viewed as a throw-in at the time.

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