Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Matt Shaw needs at-bats to get better, but how will he get them? (Hour 2)
13 Feb 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: How will Matt Shaw get regular at-bats with the Cubs?
This hour is brought to you by Cars for Kids.
Shaw hit 13 homers this year. He hits a line drive into shallow center. A base hit. Rounding third and scoring is Kelly. Cubs lead 4-0. Matt Shaw with a base hit into center. Dansby Swanson claps his hands as he looks over at Shaw at first base. Cubs lead by four and the crowd is loving it.
That, of course, courtesy of the Cubs radio network, Pat Hughes, Ron Coomer on the call. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And just a week from today, we have a game. We have a game to talk about. Such a nice idea.
I don't know how much we're going to talk about that game because you know what those games look like out of the gate.
Here's some person you don't know pitching against some person you don't know batting. And then you've got to figure out who these people will be in the search for the next Gage Taylor Workman.
Why you got to bring up Gage?
Because that's what spring training is. It's a search for that type of dude.
So do you put stock in spring training or do you not? Because that's the battle.
I do because I believe in having, you're not going to end the season with the same 40 guys you start with. So I'm a big believer in figuring out who's going to be a part of that scene altogether. I'm a big believer in knowing who's your glad-I-called-that-guy guy, for example, who is going to pop, who brings value to your team.
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Chapter 2: What factors influence Matt Shaw's performance during spring training?
You know, right field is the spot for him. Is that what we are to understand? Is it designated hitter? And then it's trying to figure out, say, a Suzuki. And that's all of this together. Now, let's go back to earlier in the week, if you recall. Craig Council had said that it's not a top three problem for him, Shaw being in right field. That's not top three priority list.
So it's number four.
That's it. I'm like, well, okay, if it's in your top five, that's kind of still a big deal. Even if it's in your top ten, given how you work as a manager, that seems important to me.
Knowing what we know, which is very limited because we haven't seen Matt Shaw at all these different positions, would it surprise you if Matt Shaw played a better right field than Seiya Suzuki?
No, because I think it speaks to his physical tools when you talk about how he was able to play such good defense at the hot corner. I think you have to have a cannon in right field, as we've discussed. Fernando Tatis is probably the biggest example of somebody successfully going from the infield to the outfield recently later in his career. Shaw's way younger now.
So when you put that all together, I think that that gives you an indication it's a good possibility. But it's also trying to figure out when Jed Hoyer talks about the totality of the season, one of the big factors for the totality of their success was Seiya Suzuki leading Major League Baseball and RBIs at the break. So what's Seiya Suzuki's best version of himself?
In a contract year, by the way. But what's Seah's best self look like? And you and I were discussing this. Does Matt Shaw playing in right field come at the expense of Seah Suzuki getting fielding reps that he thinks helps his offensive game?
I don't know what Matt Shaw looks like as a DH or a right fielder. I do know what he looked like as a third baseman, and offensively, it simply was not good enough. Hence, going out to get a guy like Alex Bregman. If you thought Matt Shaw could hold it down and produce like Bregman, then maybe you don't. But also, from a culture standpoint, Bregman, I think, was needed.
And I can't wait to see exactly how that plays out over the course of the season. You know, just days in, we've already gotten so many different stories, so many accounts, whether it's Bruce Levine, whether it's Ken Rosenthal. People are chiming in on what people are telling them about Alex Bregman, what his new teammates are telling them.
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Chapter 3: How does the Cubs' management view Matt Shaw's role on the team?
That's one of those guys you say if he comes out, hits .350 and gets on base and does stuff, you'd be like, Kevin looks like he's ready to have some regular at-bats.
And given his height and how he can glide in the outfield, you know, because he runs well, like, how does that play into all of this? That's more of a front office thing than I think a Craig Council thing. But... Typically, if you're in the Dodgers, the exemplary franchise here that we just talked about, destroying baseball while they get projected to win 104 games by Pakoda. 104 and a half.
I'm not going to short them to half. But if you're the Dodgers and you have too many good players on your team, what happened? You're trading somebody like a Michael Bush and then he ends up on the Cubs and the Cubs get value out of it and so did the Dodgers.
And the Dodgers still end up winning the World Series.
But the point is, you know, there's an incentive every way you look at it to have all of your players play to their best selves. The problem, though, is at what cost, you know? I think at least we know that there's no question at first base. I don't know that you have to platoon that. But do you have to platoon your DH? Do you have to platoon your right field? Is Shaw okay with being utility?
Do you think that will set him back when it comes to his offensive development we saw last year? Jed Hoyer was on Fox 32 with our friend Tina Wynn, and he discussed how to keep that infield intact.
Yeah, no, it's a really good infield. I mean, I think it's certainly one of the best infields in baseball. And Matt Shaw is a player that we feel total confidence in. And, you know, one of the things we always talk about is, like, you can't just write out your lineup, you know, one through nine or write the positions out. You have to have real depth.
And, you know, where we are right now and then having Matt Shaw who can move around and, you know, we'll have injuries, we'll have guys in your days off. And making sure that it's not just those four guys, but also Matt is able to really help out I think is really important.
Help out.
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Chapter 4: What impact does Seiya Suzuki's performance have on Matt Shaw's opportunities?
It'd probably be Shaw.
So don't you think Moises Ballesteros is a better hitter than Matt Shaw?
I think they've got more invested in Shaw where they have to figure this out.
I know, but if I have a game to win today and I need real, who gives you the best at-bats between Moises Ballesteros and Matt Shaw? I think it's Ballesteros and it's not particularly close.
Matt Shaw's OPS was 839 in the second half of last year.
Okay, what was Moises Ballesteros' OPS? I mean, he had way more limited bats.
Let's look up the splits right now. 2025. I mean, that's where I sit with this is the implication was that Madshaw was going to be an everyday third baseman for this team. Moises Ballesteros in a very small sample size, 48 plate appearances in the second half, was still 1,023. But it was 48 appearances in the second half. Played appearances, not game appearances.
No, no, no. But what you had to do to get good numbers out of Matt Shaw was to say second half. If I just look at Moises Ballesteros and his 20 games period, an 868 OPS, a 298 batting average, a 394 on base. Yeah, he's a better hitter than Matt Shaw. He always has been as far as professionally.
But even you yourself argued in favor of Matt Shaw getting the reps that he got last year because you saw how much he improved offensively. And you talked more about Matt Shaw than you did Moises.
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Chapter 5: How does the Cubs' infield depth affect Matt Shaw's playing time?
Okay, yeah, yeah. And if he only plays against righties, and Matt Shaw only plays against lefties, that is a platoon. Not that Matt Shaw would only play. I'm just saying at the DH position specifically. Like, if a righty's on the mound, I'm assuming that Ballesteros is DHing.
Well, I mean, and that's it. How do you make it make sense? Because Shaw's okay with being a utility. But I'm just saying, in the window of I want to get this guy regular at bats, that's where I've been coming from with the whole thing.
So if you're trying to get Matt Shaw regular at bats, like I said, I'd be good with two starts a week. Is that regular enough? Or do you need three starts a week? Let's assume there's six games in a week, okay? In an average week, there's six games in a week. And you look at Matt Shaw versus, let's say, right-handed pitchers. And he's only hitting .218 last year against right-handed pitchers.
He's hitting .250 against left-handed pitchers. His OPS against right-handed pitchers, .649. His OPS against left-handed pitchers, .808. That's why it screams Splatoon. It just does.
Yeah, I mean...
And there's more right-handed starters.
What made you change your tune on Shaw now versus how you felt about him?
Alex Bregman exists.
Yeah.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of tanking in the NBA?
as Circa Sports presents Palm Saturdays featuring Circa's Vice President of Operations, Mike Palm. You'll be able to listen on the score in the Odyssey app or watch live on YouTube and Twitch as Mike breaks down the latest in the sports betting landscape with a Chicago flavor.
It's all presented by the official sportsbook of the score, Circus Sports, sports betting the way it should be with no bet fees. Our segment was brought to you by AlmostFreeTeeth.com. Save on dental implants today. Coming up next, he is at the All-Star Game, and he joins us, Nick Friedel, the former Bulls beat writer. He is now with The Athletic. We will talk to him next.
Rahimi Harrison-Groovy, Midday's Tittle Tunes, on Chicago Sports Radio, 104.3 The Score.
I was a kid who marveled at all the All-Stars, all the All-Star games growing up. You know, and to be able to hit the floor and be a part of, like, the legacy and everything that's happened with NBA All-Star weekend and NBA All-Star game on Sunday. Just super humble, super blessed, and happy to be part of it.
That was LeBron James. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104.3 The Score. And whether or not you like it, it's NBA All-Star Weekend. See, that's... Snuck up on us.
That's not nice.
Why is it not nice? Whether or not you like it... It's just me laughing about it on the schedule.
No, no, no, but I feel like NBA All-Star Weekend has disappointed so many people over the matter of time that people aren't willing to give it a chance anymore.
People are willing to give it a chance. If you're listening to our station, there's a good chance you're probably going to catch some of the NBA All-Star action.
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Chapter 7: How are teams responding to the NBA's fines for tanking?
Because the fix is, get these guys to play a little bit harder against each other. I don't care what format they roll out there. Unless guys take the game itself more seriously, not much is going to change.
OK, Nick, so you're right. But at the same time, can we get a one on one tournament? Because I feel like that would up the stakes, at least some personal pride on the line, at least.
Marshall, I'm sure that is something that they'll continue to kick around. And my fear would be. As a one-off, one-year, sure, I think it would be interesting. But then if we kept running it back year after year, people would be like, okay. We'd see a lot of, all right, back me down. I'm going to start chucking up threes because I really don't want to give too much effort into it.
It's really too bad, though, y'all, because so many years, so long, I would sit there and I would turn on the TV when I was a little kid and I would be looking forward to those moments. And you'd see the best players going after each other. And there's just not that pride anymore in going at somebody in a game that,
Never really mattered, but it mattered to those that played it, which is what took it to a different point. So if it's a one-on-one tournament, maybe as the newness is apparent with USA versus the world, sure. But, you know, Steph isn't going to be in that game. Go back to last year. LeBron was there. LeBron was like, nah, I'm good.
He didn't even want to stand out there and, you know, take a couple shots and throw some passes. So when you don't have the buy-in from the biggest of stars, and that has been over and over and over again for years and years... you get to the place that they're in right now.
Yeah, it frankly started with the dunk contest, Nick. You know, that was where we started to see the first opt-outs, and now we're wondering why the G League dunker who's won it isn't even competing in it this year. That's where we've landed.
It's really sad because, Layla, I saw a quote, and it's Mack McClung, the guy who keeps winning it, who everybody kind of rallies around in the moment and then forgets about for the rest of the year. But it's like he didn't want to upset the NBA guys who wanted to participate because they didn't want to go against the G League.
I know the three of us have talked about this for several years now, but it's what concerns me the most is somebody who makes their living off of the NBA, covering the league for as long as I have. The product itself, and this is much deeper and broader than just the All-Star game or All-Star weekend, it's just not very good right now. The regular season NBA product is not very good.
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Chapter 8: What are the broader issues facing the NBA today?
Those are just reminders of much bigger issues.
Nick Fidel is the senior writer for The Athletic covering the Golden State Warriors and the NBA. Joining us here on Rahimi Harris and Grody and Nick, that T word. Tank! A lot of teams driving one of those things, those bad boys right now. The Bulls are apparently trying to get into a brand new tank and drive their way.
It's going to be a while to try to catch some of these teams that have gotten a nice head start on them. What do you make of the fines that were given out by the NBA as sort of this warning shot to both the Indiana Pacers, but more importantly, the Utah Jazz?
Marshall, at least they're trying something. I mean, $500,000 is as much as the league can go at anyone. I think what they're hoping for actually has two different parts to it. One, that in Utah, it's so clear what they're doing that The next time Will Hardy, the coach, looks down on his bench and is like, maybe I shouldn't sub these guys out and attempt to let them play down the stretch.
These games make it so obvious. But two, what they're hoping for is a lot of these other teams, and I know the Jazz and the Pacers got dinged here, but they don't want to get that kind of fine. And even more, they don't want the public scrutiny of, all right, well, Are they really trying tonight? Is this really on the up and up? Because you're screwing with the fabric of the game.
My old colleague Bobby Marks said the integrity of the game. And when you watch, that's the problem. You're just not sure... what you're going to see night to night. And Layla, you and I were at the UC for so many years watching all those Bulls games. That was never a question that popped in your head. No. It was like, all right, do they have enough tonight? Are they running out of gas?
But you never thought, is everybody giving their all? And that is what the league has become right now. So I think the NBA has some serious, serious issues with Marshall too. your question and to the larger point. I think they're aware of them. I mean, it'd be one thing if they sat there and said, oh, no, everything's great. Let's celebrate basketball and the regular season's awesome. It's not.
They know it. They're trying to do what they can, but... The reward for tanking so far outweighs a half a million dollar fine or a slap on the wrist with some second round pick from five years from now. The league has to get way more creative in what it can do to stop it or else this is just going to continue to permeate everything that's going on within the game.
Well, how much of this, Nick, do you think is a result of the new CBA? We're a little bit later into this now. This is season number two. So how much of this do you think is a result of that new deal taking a little bit of the competition element out of it? You can't trade for the same amount of players you used to be able to. You can't do as many transactions.
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