Matt Shaw cracking the Cubs’ Opening Day roster could have plenty of benefits beyond the field.

Yes, Shaw looks to be the clear, long-term answer at the hot corner for the team. Being in the major leagues from Day 1 will allow him to learn and develop against the best of the best, a benefit for him and the Cubs.

But, since the new collective bargaining agreement went into effect in 2022, there’s an added benefit to having a top prospect on the Opening Day roster: the prospect promotion incentive (PPI).

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The PPI rewards teams who promote their top prospects to the majors at the start of the year. If a player ranks in the Top 100 rankings of three prospect outlets (MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN), is on the Opening Day roster or called up within the first two weeks and wins either the Rookie of the Year or places in the Top 3 of MVP or Cy Young voting, the team will earn an extra draft pick after the first round.

For example, last year, the Pirates did not receive an extra draft pick after Paul Skenes won NL Rookie of the Year because he wasn’t called up until May. The Orioles (Gunnar Henderson) and Diamondbacks (Corbin Carroll) had an extra pick in last year’s draft pick after their players won their respective Rookie of the Year Awards in 2023.

Shaw is a Top 100 prospect on all three lists. Carrying him on the roster in Japan and for the entire year could mean an extra pick for the Cubs in 2026 if he performs to the level of his prospect status — a topic that was discussed on the latest edition of the Cubs Weekly Podcast. Right-handed pitcher Cade Horton, catcher Moisés Ballesteros and outfielders Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara are all eligible, too.

Of course, that extra draft pick does not make it a no-brainer decision to carry Shaw on the roster. He started spring training with oblique soreness and played his first Cactus League game on March 2. In 4 games, he’s 2-for-12 with 2 RBI. It’s a small sample size, but the most important thing for him and the Cubs is the fact that he’s been healthy.

He’s had success at every stop on the minor-league ladder. Last season in 121 games (86 at Double-A and 35 at Triple-A), Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 (.867 OPS) with 21 home runs, 71 RBI, 31 stolen bases and a 146 weighted runs-created plus, 46 percentage points above league average.

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That kind of production could lead to a successful rookie campaign. The Cubs will have to finalize their 31-man travel roster for Tokyo (26-man active roster for the two-game set against Los Angeles and a 5-man travel squad) by Tuesday.

If the Cubs don’t deem him ready, they could wait to activate him by the domestic opener on March 27 against the Diamondbacks and still have him eligible for PPI.