Matt Shaw's return from injury is nearing, giving the already elite Chicago Cubs offense another major boost as the team makes its push toward the postseason.
The Chicago Cubs already have one of the most prolific offenses in baseball. Entering play on Friday, their 656 runs scored are good for the second-best mark in baseball.
Led by Pete Crow-Armstrong and his 2026 campaign, which has been worthy of NL MVP consideration, the Cubs have also seen Seiya Suzuki deliver with a .844 OPS in 2026. Ian Happ has hit 20 home runs for the fourth consecutive season, while third baseman Alex Bregman has hit .306 with a .962 OPS over his last 33 games.
The Cubs lineup has hitters from top to bottom, and their offensive consistency has allowed Chicago to overcome some devastating injuries to the pitching staff at various points in 2026.
Now, as we head toward the finish line of the regular season and zero in on yet another Cubs playoff berth, the lineup is getting another big boost with Matt Shaw likely returning from injury in the coming days.
In 56 games with the Cubs this season, Matt Shaw has a .737 OPS. He's shown signs of development since his rookie year and figures to be an important upgrade to the current roster, which is without Dansby Swanson in the infield as he recovers from an oblique injury.
Shaw, however, has been on the IL twice in 2026 alone, once at the end of May with back tightness and again on June 29 with a left hand sprain that forced him out of action for nearly two months. This week, Shaw started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa.
He went 1-for-3 on Wednesday night while batting second and playing second base, but was not in the lineup on Thursday.
Shaw getting work at second base points to exactly how the Cubs will use him once he returns. Nico Hoerner has made the transition to shortstop in Swanson's absence, with Shaw likely taking the lion's share of at-bats at second base until Swanson returns. It could be an important stretch for Shaw to prove he belongs as a regular in the lineup, even once Swanson is back in action and looking ahead to 2027.
Pedro Ramirez started his MLB career off well in 2026, but he's 2-for-14 since Sunday, the day Swanson went down, dropping his OPS on the year from .803 to .760. Still, Ramirez has played third base and even some first base at times in 2026, and there should be plenty of opportunities for Craig Counsell to get him at-bats while leaning into the clear upgrade that Shaw is over the current depth infield options.
Shaw, of course, has plenty of defensive versatility as well for Counsell to play with.
