Jed Hoyer, Craig Counsell discuss Cubs’ third base plans

Pitchers and catchers reported to camp for the Cubs today, and as part of the start of camp president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell both spoke with the media about a number of topics. Third base was a particular focus of the media session after Chicago dealt incumbent third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker trade back in December. Notably, the Cubs have reportedly remained on the periphery of the market for longtime Astros third baseman Alex Bregman this winter as he’s lingered in free agency. While it does seem as though Chicago has interest in Bregman’s services, Hoyer made clear the club is currently focused on the players they already have internally in comments relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

“Unclear,” Hoyer said when asked if another major move was coming before Opening Day. “I think you always look for opportunity, but right now we’re going to focus on the guys we have in camp. That’s the plan.”

Nightengale reports that the Red Sox, Tigers, and Astros have all made offers of at least four years to Bregman at this point, and that’s largely consistent with previous reporting that has suggested Bregman has been presented with five- and six-year offers throughout the winter. As for the Cubs, Nightengale writes that there’s been “no indication” that the Cubs would be willing to offer more than a three-year deal, but added that they could be willing to offer Bregman the highest average annual value of any of his suitors should he settle for a short-term deal.

It’s a model that the club followed to re-sign Cody Bellinger last winter when they landed him on a three-year, $80M pact in late February, and other high-profile free agents like Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty have had to settle for similarly short-term offers previously this winter. Whether Bregman’s market will make it necessary for him to follow that same path remains to be seen, however, and it’s easy to imagine the Cubs simply going with their internal options at the position rather than committing to a lengthy contract with Bregman.

Of those internal options, the most exciting one for Cubs fans is surely top prospect Matt Shaw. The club’s 2023 first-round pick has done nothing but hit as a professional, with a .303/.384/.522 slash line across four levels of the minors to this point in his young career. That includes a fabulous 35-game stint at Triple-A late last year, where he hit .298/.395/.534 with a strikeout rate of just 19.7% in 152 trips to the plate. Shaw’s ascent has put him firmly on the big league radar headed into the 2025 season, and it seems as though (barring a surprise acquisition like Bregman) the 23-year-old will get every opportunity to open camp with the club this spring.

With that being said, Hoyer made clear (as relayed by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers) that Shaw will have to earn the position this spring and won’t just be handed the position. While Hoyer emphasized that they don’t plan to “anoint” the rookie, it’s worth pointing out that there isn’t a clear veteran option for the hot corner should they decide to pivot away from Shaw at this point. Vidal Brujan was acquired from the Marlins earlier this winter but has less than 100 innings of third base experience in the majors and is a career .189/.261/.270 hitter. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman is viewed as a plus defender at third base and hit well for the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate in Erie last year, but he hasn’t even played at the Triple-A level before making him arguably less experienced than Shaw himself.

Perhaps veteran utility man Jon Berti is the best internal third base candidate besides Shaw, though the 35-year-old is coming off a season where he was limited to just 25 games due to injuries and would be risky to rely on in an everyday role. He’s also reportedly under consideration to back up Michael Busch at first base, suggesting his best role may be one where his versatility is leveraged to allow him to fill in at multiple positions off the bench. Further complicating the Cubs’ infield mix is the uncertain timeline of second baseman Nico Hoerner. The Cubs revealed in late October that Hoerner had undergone flexor tendon surgery without providing a timeline for his return, and the latest update on his recovery process was that he had yet to begin throwing or hitting post-surgery and that his availability for the start of the season was in question.

Given all of that uncertainty around the infield, another infielder would certainly make sense for Chicago even if they aren’t willing to extend themselves to land Bregman. Free agent infield help is scarce at this point in the offseason, however. Aside from Bregman, the best third base options available are bench pieces like Paul DeJong, Brandon Drury, and Luis Urias. It’s possible a trade could be had, with Brett Baty of the Mets, Oswaldo Cabrera of the Yankees, and Willi Castro of the Twins among speculative trade candidates who could still be available at this point in the winter, but the Cubs haven’t been tied to any of those names to this point.

Until and unless the Cubs add another infielder to give Shaw more robust competition for the Opening Day third base job, it seems very likely he’ll be at the hot corner for the club when the season begins. That figures to be true even if Hoerner isn’t ready for Opening Day, as Counsell told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that Shaw’s focus is on third base this spring when asked if Shaw could spend some time at second base this spring to make him an option at the keystone should Hoerner begin the season on the IL.