Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season is about four weeks away for most teams, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will kick things off early in the Tokyo Series on March 15 with two regular-season games. However, the Cubs may be without one of their top prospects, as Matt Shaw is dealing with an oblique injury.
“There’s no chance he’ll be ready to go and compete,” MLB analyst Bruce Levine said on 670 The Score. “You want him for the other 160 games.”
Shaw has been sidelined with an oblique injury since early February, causing him to miss some initial spring workouts. The Cubs’ promising young slugger has yet to make his Cactus League debut.
The 23-year-old Shaw is the Cubs’ top prospect and was selected in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft. While he has yet to make his big-league debut, he reached Triple-A last season. In 2024, the University of Maryland product posted a .284/.379/.488 slash line with 21 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A.
Shaw has the potential to be a difference-maker at the plate, with Baseball America describing him as “a bat-first infielder with power and an above-average hit tool.”
The Cubs’ failure to sign Alex Bregman further opened the door for Shaw to become the team’s starting third baseman. However, they did bring in 16-year veteran Justin Turner, who could handle the hot corner if Shaw isn’t ready for Opening Day. The rest of the Cubs’ infield features Michael Busch at first base, Nico Hoerner at second, and Dansby Swanson at shortstop.
The Cubs and Dodgers will open the season with two games in Tokyo before returning to the U.S. for a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks to kick off their domestic schedule.
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