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The Chicago Cubs have been one of the best teams in baseball this season despite having a poor rotation due to injuries. While the Cubs’ lineup is apparently deep enough for the club to be ready to compete, one of Chicago’s hitters may need to be moved this summer to address the rotation.

USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale wrote Sunday that with Chicago in the market for a front-line starting pitcher, the front office has “no choice” but to trade infielder Matt Shaw.

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Shaw, who is just 24 years old, is also not eligible for arbitration until 2029. He’s making just $804,500 this season and has made great strides. After posting a .226 batting average in his rookie season, Shaw has raised his average to .245 this year with an OPS near .700.

He has decreased his strikeout rate year-to-date (21.5% to 17.5%) and is showing good positional versatility. However, the Cubs’ roster is deep on the position-player side, with Moises Ballesteros, Michael Conforto, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman needing consistent at-bats.

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For Chicago, the depth of hitters gives the front office the flexibility to move Shaw. The Cubs may be at an advantage over other suitors because Shaw can contribute immediately at the major-league level, while prospects may never reach the big leagues.

The challenge may be finding the right business partner. The San Francisco Giants may have some starting pitching available (Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle), but they already have Matt Chapman at third base. Meanwhile, the New York Mets are loaded with young hitters in the corner infield.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

In Friday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kyle Schwarber did something that had only been done once before in Philadelphia Phillies history. The slugger equaled the record set by Cy Williams in 1923 by homering 20 times in the Phils’ first 45 games of the season. He has also hit nine home runs in his last eight games. Schwarber is on pace for a ridiculous 72 home runs.

Age remains a concern for Schwarber, as the former outfielder transitions to full-time designated hitter duties after the 2023 season. But his power has only improved since then, hitting a career-high 56 homers in 2025. He is the definition of a true triple output player, someone who primarily walks, strikes out, or hits home runs. Many are questioning whether his power can continue as he ages, so how has Schwarber maintained his ability to throw for power?

History as a slugger

None of this is new to Schwarber, although it has certainly reached a new level recently. He has always been a power hitter. Since 2017, Schwarber posted only one season with fewer than 30 homers (2018), not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season. This is a level of consistent slugging that is simply head and shoulders above everyone else in the game. And it’s that consistency that has established Schwarber as one of the best in baseball.

The slugger has spent time with four clubs in his career, but most of his service time was split between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia. Interestingly, Schwarber has gotten better with age. His time with the Cubs was early in his career, where he hit 121 homers. But during his most recent stint with Philly, the hitter has 207 dingers. In a league where age almost always means getting worse, Schwarber has managed to turn it around.

only getting better with age

They say wine gets better with age, but so does Kyle Schwarber. In the first seven seasons of his career, he never reached the 40-homer mark. But in the four seasons that followed, Schwarber has surpassed 40 home runs three times. The only time he failed to reach there was in 2024, when he scored 38 runs. And even though he surpassed his career high in points last season with 56, it looks like Schwarber is even better in 2026.

His 165 wRC+ is an all-time high compared to last year’s 152. ISO is a statistic that measures pure power hitting, which is calculated by subtracting batting average from the slugging percentage. Schwarber has a ridiculous .384 ISO mark. That production at the plate has equated to 1.5 WAR for the slugger in just 45 games. This puts him on pace for 5.4 WAR on the season. for a player who Only Contributes with his bat, that’s huge numbers.

statistical anomalies

Statcast has some graphs of Schwarber’s plate production that help explain his profile as a player with three true results. The first two (seen below) show his hot zone as a power hitter, with the red color on the image indicating the part where his home runs are hit.

As you would expect, these zones are fairly similar, with the middle of the zone being the primary spot where Schwarber makes quality contact. An interesting metric is the top right part of each figure. These are pitches that are high and inside, given that Schwarber is a left-hander. He’s doing a tremendous amount of damage on those pitches, with 1,500 ISO and 2,000 SLG. His strikeout rate in that area is also attractive (pictured below left). He has not yet hit a pitch in that area of ​​the zone, demonstrating a distinct ability to wait for that pitch and do damage.

Even more shocking are his on-base percentage stats. The four quadrants outside the zone are a helpful way to measure plate discipline and movement. Schwarber has a combined .559 OBP on pitches out of the zone, which means he’s walking in a ridiculous fashion. He is tied for 11th in MLB with 30 walks, giving him a 14.7 percent walk rate.

Schwarber is an anomaly in that regard. Before him, most sluggers known to get better after age 30 were steroid users. The year Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, a record that has yet to be broken, he had a .863 SLG and a .535 ISO. Schwarber isn’t nearly as good, but is doing something similar without the help of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Phillies’ 2026 season

The year got off to a rough start for Philadelphia, who fired manager Rob Thomson after a 9–19 start. They have since improved to second place in the National League East with a 22–23 record under interim manager Don Mattingly. Much of that success was due to Schwarber’s bat. In baseball it is impossible for a player to carry a team. But it often feels like the team wouldn’t be where they are without Schwarber; he is He Precious.

If he can keep this up, he will establish himself as not only the greatest slugger in Philadelphia history, but one of the greatest in MLB history. While in Philly, he has averaged 47 home runs a season (2022–25). Given this, he is on pace to reach 574 home runs by the time his contract with the Phillies expires in 2030. Only 28 players have ever reached the 500-homer plateau, and Schwarber is poised to become number one. 29.