One player’s slow start is reminding Cubs fans about a glaring hole in the lineup

Gage Workman got the start at third base for the Chicago Cubs in Monday night’s frigid win over the Texas Rangers. It wasn’t just Wrigley Field that was cold, as Workman went 0-3 with three strikeouts at the plate, drawing a walk in the eighth inning to narrowly avoid the dreaded “golden sombrero”.

In Workman’s defense, it was only one game. The 25-year-old only has six major league at-bats to his name. However, his struggles Monday night highlight a glaring problem with the Chicago Cubs’ roster configuration in 2025.

There is no apparent back up should Matt Shaw continue to struggle

After never making a serious attempt for free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, the Cubs sent a message that they were going to be relying heavily on top prospect Matt Shaw to man the hot corner. While the season is still young, the experiment has not gone the way they had hoped. 

Shaw is batting .190 on the year with an OPS+ of just 79. Looking at his Baseball Savant page, the numbers do not get much better. 

Shaw ranks in the ninth percentile of Major League Baseball with an average exit velocity of 84.5 miles per hour. His whiff percentage of 34.5 percent ranks in the bottom-fourteenth percentile. 

Fortunately, there are signs of hope for the young third baseman. Shaw has already accumulated nine walks on the year, ranking third on the team behind Seiya Suzuki and the dominant Kyle Tucker. Despite his batting average currently sitting below the Mendoza Line, Shaw’s walk percentage of 17.6 ranks in the 89th percentile of Major League Baseball.

It is unfair to make proclamations about Shaw through only 12 games. However, outside of Workman, the next Cubs player in line for third base would likely be Jon Berti. The issue with that is Berti is seeing semi-regular time at second base while Nico Hoerner works up his elbow strength.

The Cubs currently rank 18th with a positional WAR of -0.1 at third base per Baseball Reference. The Cubs will rely on Shaw to catch his stride sooner rather than later if they hope to contend for a playoff spot come the summer.