Matt Shaw has been the Chicago Cubs’ best hitter since the All-Star break, but the rookie’s hot streak won’t stop president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer from pursuing the top hitter on the market.
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported that the Cubs will continue to pursue Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez despite Shaw’s recent surge.
Suárez, 34, is having an outstanding season for Arizona. The two-time All-Star has 36 home runs and 87 RBI while slashing .247/.319/.579 in 104 games.
Chicago’s biggest need is starting pitching, but adding the league leader in RBI to your lineup would be a season-altering move.
“Though one league official pointed to the law of averages, wondering if Suárez would eventually cool off in August and September, a team source made the counterpoint: “Sometimes, it’s just your year,” wrote Mooney.
“Suárez is performing at such a high level — at the one position where the Cubs entered the season with a big question mark — that the organization can’t yet foreclose the possibility of acquiring the right-handed slugger. Especially when the Milwaukee Brewers, a heated division rival, have also been linked to Suárez, whose career numbers against the Cubs include 36 home runs and 94 RBIs in 132 games.”
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Shaw is the better defensive player by a long shot, but despite hitting four home runs and slashing .444/.474/1.000 over his last seven games, he’s slashing just .226/.296/.359 on the season with 30 less homers.
In what could be Kyle Tucker’s only season in Chicago, Hoyer must go all-in.
Trading for Suárez doesn’t mean Shaw can’t still make an impact for the Cubs. The team could send him back down to Triple-A Iowa, or, they can use him off the bench.
Chicago’s bench unit hasn’t done much to help offensively, so moving Shaw to the bench gives you much more production in the pinch.
He can come in as a defensive substitution late in the game, and he can start at third base if manager Craig Counsell wants to give left fielder Ian Happ a day off.
Happ has been horrible in comparison to his career averages and could use more days off to reset. This would allow designated hitter Seiya Suzuki to play left field and Suárez can DH.
Suárez could be packaged with either Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly, allowing the Cubs to address their pitching concerns.
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