CHICAGO – As the Cubs inch closer to a healthy roster, Craig Counsell has a chance to lead one of the deepest, most versatile groups of position players he’s had the luxury to manage.The addition of Tyrone Taylor at the trade deadline and the emergence of rookie Pedro Ramírez over the last few months have helped build a stronger bench. Michael Conforto has proven to be a quality left-handed depth piece for the team. Now, Matt Shaw’s return has given Counsell even more options.The Cubs’ depth was on display in Friday’s 17-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. With a lefty on the mound, Taylor and Shaw both earned starts in the corner outfield spots. Those two, plus Ramírez, combined for six hits, three walks and four runs scored.“The rallies just kept coming,” Counsell said. “Tyrone was part of getting some of those started. Pedro did a great job behind him. The next thing is does it likely puts people on base with the top of the order coming up. Production from down there, being on base is huge.”The Cubs have boasted a lengthy lineup all season. But being able to play matchups no matter who is starting, or who an opposing manager calls in from the bullpen, is something Counsell has recently been able to do without suffering significant downgrades defensively.Shaw has proven to be incredibly versatile and a quick learner when introduced to new positions. Drafted as a shortstop out of Maryland in 2023, Shaw had limited experience at third base. But after getting 552 1/3 innings there between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, the Cubs felt comfortable enough handing him the starting gig at the position to open 2025. By the end of the season, Shaw had not only proven he could handle it; he also became a Gold Glove finalist.But Alex Bregman’s signing last winter raised questions as to what Shaw would do for the team. He quickly embraced the idea of helping in the outfield. Despite some rocky moments in spring training and early in the season, Shaw eventually took to right field – a notoriously difficult place to play at Wrigley Field – and earned Counsell’s trust there as well.“It’s rare to find players like Matt Shaw that can play the infield and the outfield,” Counsell said. “Those are rare players, there’s not many players in the league that can do that at a pretty good level. Matt’s presence itself makes it a little unique.”When Shaw first injured his wrist two months ago in Milwaukee, Counsell had only recently decided he’d be giving him more starts in right field. But things have changed since then. The team is deeper and pushing Seiya Suzuki to DH to give Shaw more starts outside of when lefties pitch doesn’t seem to be something Counsell will do regularly.But starting against lefties is just one of many ways Shaw can bring value to the team.“I think 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 just the late-game stuff. Matt can run the bases, Matt has hit left-handed pitching well and Matt can play infield and outfield. You don’t know which game you’re going to run into that situation, but there’s gonna be some days where we do run into it. He’s valuable when he’s on the bench.”The hope for the Cubs is Counsell’s bench will only get deeper in a couple of weeks. When Dansby Swanson went down with an oblique strain almost two weeks ago, the Cubs were hoping for only a four-week absence. After Swanson took grounders and ran on the field Friday, he once again did some work Saturday, providing optimism that he can stick to the original timeline for his return.“He’s starting to move around athletically but not being tested with big rotational activities,” Counsell said. “He will start swinging a bat next week and that obviously starts the challenging part of this, the rotational part of it. We’re in a good place. The fact that you see him on the field doing athletic things is a really good sign.”Swanson’s return would push Ramírez back to a bench role. But it would give the Cubs four players on their bench in Shaw, Ramírez, Conforto and Taylor that have shown they can be capable starters. That’s an incredibly rare luxury for any team to have.“Every manager wants every situation covered in a game,” Counsell said. “I feel pretty good about that with this roster right now. We’ve got a lot of situations covered.”