Matt Shaw will be on the spot in 2025 because the Chicago Cubs believe the young third baseman’s performance will be spot-on.

The Cubs used eight different players at third base in 2024. That’s a lot of shoes to fill, even for a promising rookie who got $4,848,500 to sign as a first-round pick in 2023.

Jed Hoyer, the Cubs’ president of operations, told reporters that Shaw, the team’s top-ranked prospect, will get every opportunity to be the starter at third in 2025.

“I think making room for young players is really important,” Hoyer said. “I mean, he has to earn that job. I’m not going to gift him that job on a conference call in the middle of December. But, certainly, with what he’s done in the minor leagues since we’ve had him, he’s played really well.”

In 159 games in the minors, the former Maryland star has hit .303 with 29 homers, 99 RBI and 46 stolen bases in 60 attempts. He also has played solid defense at third base, second and shortstop. Some scouts say Shaw’s arm may be a bit lacking at third. They usually add that his offense would more than make up for it.

“He can play second well, he can play third well,” Hoyer said. “Right now, obviously, we’re going to give him a long look at third after we traded (Isaac) Paredes.”

The Cubs also sent third baseman Cam Smith to the Houston Astros in that deal to acquire slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker. Smith was the Cubs’ No. 1 pick last July.

That trade in turn enabled Hoyer to unload outfielder Clay Bellinger’s rich contract on the New York Yankees. He said the plan is to take the money “saved” and buy some free-agent pitchers.

A Revolving Door At Third

Nick Madrigal was the Cubs’ Opening Day starter at third base in 2024. Miles Mastrobuoni pinch-hit for him and finished that game at the hot corner. That started the merry-go-round of players there in 2024.

Madrigal, now a free agent, played 36 games at third, 15 at second, and hit .221. Mastrobuoni played 17 games at third and 23 at four other spots, batting .194. He’s still around at age 29 in a utility role.

Christopher Morel played 74 games at third, 32 elsewhere and hit .199 until being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays with two minor-leaguers on July 28 for Paredes. The newcomer had 16 homers in 101 games before the deal and three homers with a .223 average in 52 games for Chicago.

Patrick Wisdom hit 76 homers as the starter most of the time the previous three years, but in 2024 all but disintegrated at the plate. He “hit” .171 in 75 games, only 17 of them at third, a few elsewhere and is now a free agent.

So is David Bote, 31, who spent most of 2024 at Triple-A Iowa and played 26 games at third for the Cubs. He hit .304 for Chicago. That lifted his career average over six seasons to only .234.

Michael Busch played one game at third, 142 at first base. Hoyer said there’s no ne transplant Busch. He stays on first.

“We really see Michael as a Gold Glove first baseman,” Hoyer said. “That’s our focus. Can he move around a little bit? Of course. His versatility is great, but he made real strides at first. I thought after the first month of the season, he was fantastic at first. And that’s certainly how we’re seeing him.”

Minor-league journeyman Luis Vazquez rounded out the Cubs’ third-base program by playing three games there. In 11 games, he hit .083.

Unless Hoyer changes his mind about purchasing pitchers to sign a free-agent third baseman, Shaw’s the man in 2025.

Third Base Offense At Wrigley

Baseball Hall of Famer Ron Santo was clearly the greatest in a long line of good offensive third basemen in Cubs history. He was the only one to win a Gold Glove, snaring five in a row from 1964 until 1968. Santo also was a nine-time All-Star in 15 seasons (1960-73 with Cubs, 1974 with White Sox), batting .277 with 377 homers and 1,331 RBI.

Bill Madlock won batting championships in 1974 (.354) and 1975 (.339) in Chicago. He later had two more batting crowns with the Pittsburgh Pirates and hit .305 for a 15-year career with six teams.

Heinie Zimmerman won the Triple Crown with the 1912 Cubs, leading the NL in batting (.372), homers (14) and RBI (104). Overall, he hit .295 in 14 seasons, four with the New York Giants and 10 in Chicago, where he had a .304 average.

Aramis Ramirez hit .294 with 239 homers over nine seasons with Chicago. He also played for Pittsburgh and the Milwaukee Brewers, batting .283 with 386 homers over 18 years,

Four-time All-Star Stan Hack spent his entire 16-year (1932-47) career with the Cubs, batting .301 overall. Hack was fast, but a poor baserunner. He led the NL in caught stealing five years in a row (1936-40) and was successful only 52% of the time (165-for-320). Over that same time, he also scored more than 100 runs every year despite totaling only 28 home runs.

Matt Shaw’s fine 77% success rate stealing bases in the minors forecasts that he shouldn’t be anything like Hack on the bases. And while he should hit, he’s unlikely to match another Hack. Outfielder Hack Wilson hit .322 with 190 homers and 769 RBI in six seasons with the Cubs in the middle of his 12-year Hall of Fame career.