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KANSAS CITY — What initially seemed to be an injury that would require a minimum stint on the injured list has turned into a weeks-long recovery for Chicago Cubs utility player Matt Shaw.
Sidelined on the IL since June 29 with a left hand/wrist injury, Shaw remains weeks away from returning, manager Craig Counsell said this weekend.
“We’re making progress, it’s just slow progress — it’s slower than we would like and than Matt would like,” Counsell said. “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 has been getting in pregame work all over the diamond, including before Saturday’s game at Kauffman Stadium where he fielded grounders at multiple positions from bench coach Ryan Flaherty and coach Jonathan Mota.
“I’ve been feeling awesome,” Shaw told the Tribune on Saturday. “The last few days have been really, really solid, so that part of it has been great for sure. The mental grind, I mean, it’s just one of those things where I got a little bit of an opportunity to make sure that I’m ready at second base, that I’m ready at first base, that I’m ready in all the outfield spots and third base as well.”
The main issue still stems from Shaw’s ability to swing a bat without issue. He’s been able to swing a little bit harder every day, but the Cubs are being cautious about pushing Shaw too much.
“We’re still weeks away, I mean, he’s not swinging a bat at full speed,” Counsell said. “We’ve missed enough games where there’s a significant rehab stint here.”
The timing of Shaw’s injury was unfortunate. Counsell had been making an effort to get him into the lineup. In his 10 games prior to sustaining the injury June 28, Shaw posted a .250 average, .368 on-base percentage and .837 OPS with two triples, one home run, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored. Over the course of the season, Shaw has appeared in only 56 games — starting 32 — while logging 147 plate appearances.
Shaw said the biggest issue with his wrist happens when he’s turning the barrel of the bat, explaining that the twisting motion is what bothers the area the most, especially when he would hit a foul ball. He’s been encouraged by how much his hand/wrist has improved in the last week or two. There’s an added challenging element of never having endured this type of injury before.
“You’re kind of not sure what to expect,” Shaw said. “It seemed like such a small thing. I thought it’d take a week or two to heal, obviously that hasn’t been the case, so I’m just being patient.”
The trade deadline presented uncertainty for Shaw, too.
The 24-year-old’s positional flexibility has been valuable to the Cubs, particularly his ability to play in the corner outfield spots. Pedro Ramírez’s emergence and their improved organizational depth among position players potentially made Shaw more expendable in the lead-up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Even though Shaw is on the IL, the Cubs still could have moved him in a deal.
Instead, Shaw no longer has to wonder if his final two months would be spent in a new organization.
“It’s always better when that’s behind you,” Shaw said. “It’s easier when you don’t have to worry about if you’re going to be going somewhere, packing up all your stuff, leaving your teammates, things like that. It’s definitely better getting through the trade deadline, for sure.”
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Sidelined on the IL since June 29 with a left hand/wrist injury, Shaw remains weeks away from returning, manager Craig Counsell said this weekend.
“We’re making progress, it’s just slow progress — it’s slower than we would like and than Matt would like,” Counsell said. “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 has been getting in pregame work all over the diamond, including before Saturday’s game at Kauffman Stadium where he fielded grounders at multiple positions from bench coach Ryan Flaherty and coach Jonathan Mota.
“I’ve been feeling awesome,” Shaw told the Tribune on Saturday. “The last few days have been really, really solid, so that part of it has been great for sure. The mental grind, I mean, it’s just one of those things where I got a little bit of an opportunity to make sure that I’m ready at second base, that I’m ready at first base, that I’m ready in all the outfield spots and third base as well.”
The main issue still stems from Shaw’s ability to swing a bat without issue. He’s been able to swing a little bit harder every day, but the Cubs are being cautious about pushing Shaw too much.
“We’re still weeks away, I mean, he’s not swinging a bat at full speed,” Counsell said. “We’ve missed enough games where there’s a significant rehab stint here.”
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The timing of Shaw’s injury was unfortunate. Counsell had been making an effort to get him into the lineup. In his 10 games prior to sustaining the injury June 28, Shaw posted a .250 average, .368 on-base percentage and .837 OPS with two triples, one home run, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored. Over the course of the season, Shaw has appeared in only 56 games — starting 32 — while logging 147 plate appearances.
Shaw said the biggest issue with his wrist happens when he’s turning the barrel of the bat, explaining that the twisting motion is what bothers the area the most, especially when he would hit a foul ball. He’s been encouraged by how much his hand/wrist has improved in the last week or two. There’s an added challenging element of never having endured this type of injury before.
“You’re kind of not sure what to expect,” Shaw said. “It seemed like such a small thing. I thought it’d take a week or two to heal, obviously that hasn’t been the case, so I’m just being patient.”
The trade deadline presented uncertainty for Shaw, too.
The 24-year-old’s positional flexibility has been valuable to the Cubs, particularly his ability to play in the corner outfield spots. Pedro Ramírez’s emergence and their improved organizational depth among position players potentially made Shaw more expendable in the lead-up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Even though Shaw is on the IL, the Cubs still could have moved him in a deal.
Instead, Shaw no longer has to wonder if his final two months would be spent in a new organization.
“It’s always better when that’s behind you,” Shaw said. “It’s easier when you don’t have to worry about if you’re going to be going somewhere, packing up all your stuff, leaving your teammates, things like that. It’s definitely better getting through the trade deadline, for sure.”
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