Brewers: Travis Shaw Added To 40-Man Roster, Mark Mathias To IL

As many thought, Travis Shaw looks to be the Opening Day starter at the hot corner for the Brewers.

According to sources, this morning the Brewers and Travis Shaw agreed to move forward past the opt-out date and add the former Brewer to the 40-man roster. There was really never much doubt about the two sides agreeing to extend Shaw’s time in a Brewers uniform, but the clause in the contract gave a nice incentive for him to make the ballclub.

Although it gave him a chance to also listen to offers from other teams if interested, both sides are happy to stay together.

To make room on the 40 man roster, the Milwaukee Brewers placed infielder Mark Mathias on the 60 Day IL with a torn labrum. Mathias suffered a “serious” shoulder injury last week but this was the first clarification of what happened to Mathias.

His timeline for recovery is going to be “at least” 3-4 months.

If Travis Shaw can display valuable production against righties, the Brewers will have scored big with ‘The Mayor of DDC’ in free agency.

The 30-year old lefty will make $1.5MM this coming year with another $1.5MM in incentives also in play. So far in Cactus League play, he isn’t necessarily lighting up the league, but his manager likes what he sees.

“Travis is in a good place. We’ve just got to continue to build on it. I think we’re in a good place overall with him. He made some adjustments, even while we’ve been here. Lots of positive signs for Travis, for sure” Counsell said.

While he has quality numbers against righties (110 wRC+), he doesn’t fare as well against southpaws (79 wRC+). This is where the rest of the infielders come into play. Daniel Robertson is the utilityman that can basically play anywhere and Orlando Arcia has been getting work at third base just in case a platoon is needed.

“Counsell told me yesterday I was making the team. They made it official yesterday and laid out the plan. It’s going to be on me to produce and get in there.”

Reportedly the plan mentioned didn’t involved Shaw playing any first base, but the MLB veteran knows how things can change rapidly in this business saying, “I know I have that in my back pocket.”

Third base was a major area of need for the Brewers this offseason, and while they made high profile additions in free agency, neither addressed the third base issue. The hope is that Shaw has been able to recapture his old form and can produce once again in the middle of the lineup.