Cubs' Matt Shaw to resume throwing, hitting Monday: 'We'll be rocking and rolling pretty soon'

MESA, ARIZ. – Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw probably could have resumed throwing and hitting on Saturday. He was recovering well from tightness in left oblique. And at one point that was the tentative plan.

“They decided to do it Monday, just to start the new week,” Shaw said Sunday. “So, I'm pretty much cleared for everything – just at a lower level — maybe like 70%.”

While getting reps is important for Shaw, 23, who is the favorite to claim the third base job out of camp, maintaining his health is the priority this spring. Besides, the Cubs don’t open Cactus League play until Thursday, when they take on the Dodgers in Glendale. And Opening Day in Japan is still over a month away.

By pushing his first day of hitting to Monday, the Cubs are giving Shaw, who hurt his oblique on a swing in the batting cages, about a week off from that activity.

“They're being very careful, kind of a slower build up,” Shaw said. “Every day I feel good. So, I come in and do my running and defense and everything, and honestly, I feel really good. It’s one of those things where it really wasn't at the worst time. Maybe it's good just to take a step back with everything that's going on and take a breath here. So we'll be rocking and rolling pretty soon.”

Shaw had extra time Saturday to walk up to the group of Cubs legends standing at the edge of the agility field – Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Shawon Dunston, Mark Grace and Rick Sutcliffe – and have a conversation.

“It's one of those little things just you notice,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And it makes you more confident in the person, absolutely.”

Shaw said Dunston shared how he got comfortable at shortstop before breaking into the big-leagues at 22 years old, acknowledging the similarities. Shaw also played multiple positions at the lower levels of the minors before specializing. Now he’s poised to debut at a young age.

“It was really cool to have him talk about those experiences,” Shaw said, “and then tell me he has a lot of belief in me, and he’s supporting me from behind the scenes.”

Tucker stands in

Right fielder Kyle Tucker stepped into the batter’s box and turned to look at his longtime Astros teammate Ryan Pressly on the mound. They were the Cubs’ answer to two of their highest priorities this offseason: an elite hitter and a veteran high-leverage reliever.

Tucker was only tracking pitches on Sunday, but the symbolism was tidy.

“We got better in some places,” Counsell said Sunday. “Hopefully that's two places where we'll see increased production on both sides there.”

Tucker also stood in against Shota Imanaga and Nate Pearson. He has yet to take a swing in live BP, but he doesn’t need much preparation.

“He keeps it simple,” Counsell said. “And I mean that in a really good way. He's not going to overthink things, he's not going to come up with a new way to do it. He believes in his recipe for success. He's obviously created a ton of it.”

Imanaga draws crowd

Fans milling around the backfields of the Cubs’ spring training complex flocked to Field 6 when Imanaga took the mound to throw live BP. They pressed up against the fence to get a clear view of the lefty, who is scheduled to pitch against the Dodgers in the Tokyo Series that will open MLB’s regular season March 18-19.

His next outing will be a simulated game later this week, Counsell said. The Cubs’ first two spring training games, on Thursday and Friday, are both against the Dodgers.