Cubs activate Matt Shaw from injured list, option Kevin Alcantara to Triple-A

It took him much longer than he expected, but utility man Matt Shaw returned to the Cubs’ active roster Friday after missing almost two months with a sprained left hand. The Cubs activated him from the injured list and optioned outfielder Kevin Alcantara to Triple-A Iowa.

Shaw hurt his hand on a normal swing June 28 in Milwaukee. He thinks the injury was a fluke and doesn’t see it becoming a recurring problem. He knows he had never experienced an injury that kept him out for that long.

“Nothing like this,” Shaw said. “It was one of those things where I assumed it was going to be quicker, and it ended up taking a really long time. It tested my patience, for sure.”

Shaw went 6-for-19 (.316) in a five-game rehab assignment at Iowa. He said he felt “awesome” Wednesday after playing a day game that followed a night game.

“The big thing is feeling confident in games,” Shaw said. “I got some good swing speeds. By the fourth or fifth game, I finally started to feel confident where I wasn’t really thinking about it anymore. I just hit. That was the point that I wanted to be in.”

Shaw wasn’t in the lineup Friday against the Reds, but manager Craig Counsell said there was a good chance he would be Saturday. Counsell likes the options Shaw provides, particularly coming off the bench late in games.

“Matt does a bunch of things well,” Counsell said. “We haven’t run into a ton of situations where we need it, but it’s the late-game stuff. Matt can run the bases, has hit left-handed pitching well and can play infield and outfield. There’s going to be some days where we run into [that], and he’s valuable when he’s on the bench.”

Shaw, who was hitting .246 with four home runs, 20 RBI and a .737 OPS at the time of the injury, also gives Counsell another option at second base. Regular second baseman Nico Hoerner is filling in at shortstop in place of the injured Dansby Swanson (strained left oblique).

“We have options, for sure,” Counsell said. “That’s a lot of what Matt does. Matt can be really valuable because he provides options everywhere.”

Alcantara was hitting .240 (6-for-25) with one homer in four stints with the Cubs this season, spanning 24 games.