Once obvious Cubs' trade chip now may be key to reshaping their roster

It's no secret that the Chicago Cubs are in a bad spot right now, and third baseman Alex Bregman admitted as much when he took responsibility for the team's recent failures. The team's struggles on offense are extremely well-documented at this point, and the injuries on the pitching side just don't stop coming. The twin ten-game win streaks that provided fans with so much optimism early in the season are a distant memory, and ten consecutive series without winning one is a bleak state of affairs.

All of that leaves the Cubs in a precarious position with the trade deadline just a month and a half away. Fans would be foolish to see buying as significantly more selling with how the team has played in recent weeks. The standings certainly don't tell the tale of a surefire buyer, and haven't for quite some time at this point. Even someone like Matt Shaw, who once looked like an obvious trade chip, is now difficult to justify plucking out of an already-diminished Cubs offense.

Despite everything, trading Matt Shaw this summer would make little sense

Cubs fans know the story by now when it comes to Shaw. The rookie third baseman turned sophomore utility man lost his starting job when the Cubs signed Bregman, and that led to a long period of speculation about Shaw's future with the Cubs. Nico Hoerner's extension at the start of the 2026 only further added fuel to the fire, and so it was no surprise when MLB.com's Jordan Bastian recently declared Shaw the Cubs' top trade chip for the summer.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, things no longer appear to be that simple. Even as Shaw has posted below average offensive numbers both this season and for his career, he remains one of their best hopes when it comes to turning this team around. Shaw was on the injured list for much of the team's recent struggles, and they went 5-12 without him on the roster. Now that he's back, Shaw's ability to play all over the diamond makes him capable of filling in for any of the team's many slumping hitters.

If the Cubs somehow do find a way to turn things around and get back into the race as buyers this summer, Shaw is likely to be a meaningful part of that. The team would be foolish to give up its MLB depth ahead of the stretch run in a buy-side trade this summer even in those circumstances, but it would be even less sensible to trade Shaw if the Cubs aren't in the race.

Both Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are ticketed for free agency after the coming season. While the Cubs could look to re-sign them or look at external replacement options, Shaw is the closest thing to an MLB ready replacement the Cubs have if their refusal to use Kevin Alcantara as more than a pinch runner is anything to go off of. If the Cubs are sellers, trading one or both of those veterans and giving Shaw a runway in the outfield seems more likely than dealing the versatile youngster.

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