Chicago Cubs: Pedro Ramirez making a case to stay in the majors—maybe at Matt Shaw’s expense

The Chicago Cubs may be in the midst of an up-and-down season, but there’s been some really nice developments so far that give great optimism for the future.

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The rapid progression of infielder Pedro Ramirez is one of them.

On Saturday, the 22-year-old switch-hitting rookie belted his first home run and practically glided over the bases following the milestone moment.

“The first thing that came to mind was my mom,” Ramirez told reporters after the game via interpreter “All I could think was, ‘I hope she’s watching me.’”

And, yes, his mom was watching. Waiting for him on his cell phone was a loving motherly message of support.

Becoming his best self

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2026 has been a whirlwind year for the young talent. Over the offseason, things just seemingly all snapped into place and he started playing like his fully self-actualized self. After an eye-catching run in spring training, he hit .312 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs in 43 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs while dazzling with the glove at third base and second base.

His current major league numbers don’t read as all that impressive (.219 batting average, 1 home run and 2 RBIs), but the underlying metrics show a hitter who is, indeed, hitting the ball exceptionally hard.

Per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com:

“Ramirez entered Sunday with a 48% hard-hit rate, per Statcast. For perspective, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led Chicago’s regulars with a 49.5% hard-hit rate. Ramirez had an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph going into play Sunday. Crow-Armstrong also led the Cubs’ everyday players with a 91.4 mph average in that category.”

Brought up to replace an injured Matt Shaw on May 22, it speaks volumes that Ramirez is still with the big league Cubs after Shaw’s return.

Trade bait?

And that certainly begs the question of what to do with two players essentially filling the same super-sub utility role as infield-first bench pieces, and doing so similarly well.

The obvious answer is that one of these bench assets—Shaw or Ramirez—will be the primary piece in a trade package for much-needed pitching. It’ll just be a question of which young talent they feel is the best trade bait.

For now, though, Ramirez is happy just to be in the majors and getting his chance to capitalize on the opportunities given to him.

“The young player who comes up and plays every day, it’s a little more rare right now — at least it’s going to be for us, on this team,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell explained to media. “And so Pedro, he’s gotten some opportunities. A lot of them have been like, three days off, a couple days on. And he’s done a good job with that.

“Not overcomplicating it is another thing that’s important to do. Get your work in and then when it’s your turn to play, you just go do your thing.”

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-pedro-ramirez-matt-show-competition-trade/