Brewers: Is It Time For Travis Shaw To Go?

Travis Shaw has had a whirlwind of the past few seasons. After posting two 30+ home run season in 2017 and 2018 with the Brewers he struggled in 2019 and eventually moved on to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2020 season.

This previous offseason, David Stearns saw enough in his statistics after leaving the ballclub and decided to take a flyer on him. In spring training, Shaw shined and not only earned a 40 man roster spot but also got off to a hot start in the regular season, thus securing the everyday third baseman position.

With more than two months completed in the season, Travis Shaw has cooled off. His production has been very minimal and not only is his future playing time in jeopardy, but his time with the Brewers may be as well.

On the season Shaw is sporting a .194/.287/.345 slash line. He has six home runs to go along with 26 runs batted in. His strike out rate currently sits at 24.5% whereas his career average is 23%.

Shaw was very productive the first few weeks of the season as he collected 15 RBIs in his first 16 games. However, from May 14th to May 30th, he found himself in a dreadful 2-38 slump and over the last 33 games he has just 11 RBI’s, a .182 batting average, and a .612 OPS.

Since he’s not performing very well offensively, what does this mean for Travis Shaw and his future as a Brewer?

Prior to the Willy Adames trade, Shaw was an everyday player. He played mainly third base against right handed batters and shifted over to first base against lefties when Keston Hiura was in the minors. Pablo Reyes then saw some starts at third base as a result.

Since then things have changed. Luis Urias has been getting starts at third base with left handed batters on the mound and Hiura at first base. Urias has gone in spurts of hitting very well this season and may begin stealing some starts at third base from Shaw.

As each game passes there is a feeling that Shaw’s run as a Brewers may be coming to an end.  He receive a lot more playing time then expected initially but his current slump has vibes similar to his 2019 season.

Upon his return this season we all were rooting for him to return to his 2017 and 2018 form, but that is not looking very promising. David Stearns and company have not been afraid to make moves early on into this season and a Travis Shaw departure may be coming next.

The Brewers need to get more production out of third base in the lineup and Shaw hasn’t been getting it done lately. He’s in danger of losing his spot in the lineup.