Could Former All-Star Infielder Provide Unique Depth for Chicago Cubs?

It has been a very busy offseason for the Chicago Cubs, who are looking to snap a postseason drought in 2025.

For the past couple of years, the Cubs have been good, but not great. This offseason, it was a mission of the front office to improve this team. So far on paper, it appears like they have done so.

Chicago was able to pull off one of the biggest trades of the winter by acquiring Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Even though the slugger might have been flying under the radar on a very talented Astros team, he is one of the best outfielders in baseball, and a true star for the Cubs now.

However, with Tucker being in the final year of his contract, Chicago is certainly taking a risk with him this year. With that being said, doing everything within reason to make this the best team it possibly can be heading into 2025 will be important. If Tucker is indeed just a rental, the Cubs will want to make sure they make the most of having him.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report spoke about what could potentially be on the wish list for the Cubs heading into Spring Training. He highlighted getting some insurance at third base for Matt Shaw being an area the team could look to improve.

“Third base, meanwhile, is perhaps more of a want than a need. The position is Matt Shaw's to earn in spring training, but bringing in an insurance option such as a Jorge Polanco wouldn't hurt.”

Third base is certainly a bit of a question mark heading into Spring Training. Currently, Matt Shaw is going to get the chance to start. Chicago has a lot of talented young players, and one of the reasons why they didn’t mind trading a lot of Tucker was to get at-bats and playing time for some of their young talent.

The young third baseman has certainly earned a chance to be the starter at the position in 2025 based on his success from last year in different levels of the minors. Overall, in 2024, he totaled a .284 batting average, 21 home runs, and 71 RBIs. With an OPS of .867.

While Shaw has a ton of talent, he is unproven in the big leagues. Adding a veteran like Polanco as an insurance policy does make a lot of sense in case there are some growing pains for the young infielder.

The veteran was an All-Star back in 2019, and has had a solid career with mostly the Minnesota Twins. With a lifetime OPS of .765, he might not be a star, but he would be able to contribute positively in the lineup.

With winning this season being important, the Cubs must make sure they don’t leave any stone unturned to put the best team possible on the field.