CHICAGO — Matt Shaw was back in a familiar place this weekend.

But instead of speaking to a dozen or so media members in front of his Wrigley Field locker, the Chicago Cubs third baseman was wearing a sports coat and addressing hundreds of people at an annual Turning Point USA event in Phoenix.

Shaw’s media gathering in late September was his first real opportunity to explain why he had left the Cubs earlier to attend a memorial service for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at a Utah college event in September. Shaw gave his answers, repeatedly referring to their shared faith, and the story soon disappeared. There was no booing of Shaw at Wrigley, despite some backlash to his decision on social media.

Flash forward three months. Shaw’s speech Friday at the Turning Point gathering was an opportunity to spread his message of faith on a national stage, alongside prominent conservative speakers who make a living spreading their political messages. A video introducing Shaw even included a snippet of that locker room interview in September.

Whether his political views were the same as Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson or other MAGA speakers, Shaw immediately became associated with the movement by agreeing to to be a speaker. Political messaging is the purpose of Turning Point. Current leader Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie, had announced Thursday at the event that “we are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected (president in 2028) in the most resounding way possible.”

The Turning Point X account posted three videos of Shaw talking about his faith, making him seem as important to the organization as the others.

Speaking with Shaw in spring training in March in Mesa, Ariz., I never would have envisioned he would become a spokesman for a political movement. But that’s where we are at the end of 2025, and where we’re headed in ’26 is anyone’s guess.

As much as I might disagree with the Kirk movement and many of its leaders, Shaw certainly had the right to speak. He didn’t need his employer’s permission, or the permission of Cubs fans. It’s a free country, at least it was as this story was being written.

But Shaw should realize it’s going to make him a hot-button athlete at a time when he’s still trying to prove himself as a major-league player. He was a stellar defensive third baseman but hit only .226 as a rookie and went 2 for 17 in the postseason. Shaw’s development is important if the Cubs are to take another step forward in 2026.

Making a decision to participate in a political movement that’s anathema to many Americans, including a large percentage of fans of the team that currently employs him, only ensures that Shaw will remain in the spotlight in ’26, beginning next month at the Cubs Convention.

Shaw said in September that he realized there would be a backlash to his decision to attend the Kirk memorial and that he had “turmoil about what I should do” before talking to a handful of teammates. They told him to go, as did manager Craig Counsell.

“Whatever backlash comes is OK,” Shaw said afterward, adding he didn’t read anything that was said about him on social media.

Turning Point tweeted one video of a child asking Shaw how he shares his faith with his Cubs teammates, and another of an adult wearing Shaw’s Cubs jersey who called him “courageous” for supporting Kirk and their cause “when so many people in media or sports think differently and don’t understand your point of view.”

“Great question,” Shaw replied. “Thank you for sharing.”

Shaw conceded to the fan that he got “a lot of backlash” for his relationship with Kirk. “No matter how much hate, no matter how much people may disagree or argue with me, or go on TV and say ‘He’s the worst,’ it doesn’t change who I am and what I believe in,” he said.

Shaw knows he’s upsetting many fans while becoming more respected by many of his admirers. The responses on the Turning Point video tweets included angry fans hoping the team would sign third baseman Alex Bregman to replace Shaw. Again, he knew the potential ramifications of appearing at the event.

Shaw is considered media-friendly by Cubs writers, but he said at the event that some media come in and “they can kind of manipulate what we say.” If anything he said was manipulated, he should tell that reporter and ask for a correction.

When I asked Shaw in September what he would say to his fans who would be disappointed in his relationship with Kirk, he replied: “I don’t think it’s just fans, I think it’s people in general that I’m going to continue to try to support in any way I can. Disappointment is something natural for people you disagree with, and that’s OK. I think any way that I can support them and love them, I’m going to do that.”

The Cubs supported Shaw’s decision. Obviously he couldn’t have left the team without the permission of management. When I asked President Jed Hoyer afterward whether it was a difficult decision, he said no.

“Obviously (Shaw and Kirk) had a relationship, and I don’t think I’ve ever said no to a player who felt like it was important to them to grieve or to be somewhere,” he said. “That’s a moment where you have to trust your players and understand they’re humans and that’s something he wanted, and we weren’t going to stand in the way of it.”

I’m sure Shaw still has the support of many teammates and others in the organization. But the Cubs are a big organization, and I know many employees who disagree with Shaw’s decision to closely align himself with the Kirk movement. Going to a memorial is one thing. Speaking at a Turning Point event is quite a leap forward.

Politics and baseball don’t often mix, but Shaw isn’t the first Cubs player to wear his conservative message on his sleeve. After Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016, pitcher Jake Arrieta tweeted: “Time for Hollywood to pony up and head for the border #illhelpyoupack #beatit.”

Then-Cubs President Theo Epstein noted the trolling of Democrats the next day and told me: “I believe in the First Amendment. But I also believe we should be mindful of how other people feel.”

Epstein was not shy about being a progressive Democrat who contributed to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. But he also knew Arrieta had the right to speak his mind, just as Hoyer knows Shaw has a right to be a spokesman for Turning Point.

Whenever I asked Epstein if he was interested in a political career after baseball, he laughed it off.

“I’m not sure why anyone would inflict that on themselves or their family,” he once said. “Policies are interesting to me. Politics, not so much. There are ways to impact the world around us without necessarily diving into those political waters, and maybe someday I’ll be lucky enough to do that in some form or another.”

Perhaps there is a political future for Shaw down the road. He certainly looked at home during the Turning Point gathering and has a lot of self-confidence.

But first he’ll have to focus on his current job, where actions will speak louder than words.

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