Rampant Matt Shaw trade speculation can (hopefully) end - at least for now

After bungling their chances at a reunion with Alex Bregman, the Boston Red Sox pivoted this week - and it wasn't to Eugenio Suarez who, despite his defensive limitations, is coming off a 49-homer season and could put up big numbers at Fenway Park.

Instead, their answer to their infield concerns was bringing in veteran utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a one-year, $6 million deal - far from the big splash Red Sox Nation has been holding its breath for in recent weeks. For Chicago Cubs fans, the hope is this puts the near-endless Matt Shaw trade speculation to rest, at least for the time being.

Nobody believes the Cubs would be a better team in 2026 if they traded Nico Hoerner, who is coming off the best season of his big-league career. The same, however, cannot be said of a potential Shaw move, especially if it meant Chicago could pry a young, controllable starting pitcher with high upside away from a team like Boston.

Barring such a return, though, there's nothing inherently wrong with rostering Shaw and rolling him out as the team's super-utility man in 2026. Already in Arizona getting practice in the outfield, we could conceivably see Shaw play four or more positions this year, giving Craig Counsell some needed stability and versatility on his bench.

Matt Shaw showed marked improvement down the stretch last year

Shaw had an up-and-down rookie season in 2025, but really seemed to come on in the second half, slashing .258/.317/.522 after the All-Star break. Of course, Cubs fans remember his forgetful postseason showing (2-for-17, .436 OPS) more than his improvements down the stretch, which hasn't helped his standing with a fanbase hungry for another deep October run.

If the Cubs hold onto Shaw for the duration of the season, he's an obvious choice to succeed Hoerner at second base heading into 2027 (although Chicago should prioritize a Hoerner extension to make sure that scenario doesn't play out). And if that do get a deal with Hoerner done, maybe Shaw becomes a trade chip at the deadline to add a lockdown late-inning arm or address another need.

But with camp set to open, let's hope we can put this speculation on the back burner - at least for a little while.