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The AL East Division is fiercely competitive, and this summer, that could spill over to the trade market.
In a recent ESPN article by Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, they name the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays as all being after the same player from the Chicago Cubs.
The player for whom they're all deemed as potential "best fits"? Matt Shaw.
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Shaw is a young, versatile player with a great glove who can play on the dirt or on the grass and still has five more years of club control after this one.
If the Cubs truly decide to trade him, almost any team could be interested.
That includes AL East contenders and those, like Boston, who may start to look toward next season and beyond.
"Shaw is higher on this list than far more productive players, which illustrates the value of club control," Passan and McDaniel write. "Not a free agent until after the 2031 season, Shaw has been just shy of a league-average hitter since his debut last season. Multiple teams believe that if given a full-time role -- not available in Chicago with an infield of Bregman, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner all locked up to long-term deals -- Shaw would blossom into what was expected as a top prospect a year ago. Now, he is arguably Chicago's best trade candidate -- and perhaps the riskiest one for a team that has thinned its prospect group by acquiring multiple every-day big leaguers in recent seasons."
The ESPN insiders also list the Royals, Brewers and Giants as potential fits for Shaw.
His long-term club control and ability to play different positions, along with strong prospect pedigree, make him someone who could bring in quite the bidding war if teams get the sense that he's really being shopped.
ESPN gives him a 40% chance of getting traded this summer, which is just high enough to entice offers from all over the sport.
A Shaw trade would be about both the present and the future, which is an exciting type of deal -- and particularly intriguing if one AL East team beats out the rest for his services.
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