It may be Valentine’s Day but the Cubs announced some news Friday that fans certainly won’t love.

Top prospect Matt Shaw has been sidelined early in camp.

“He’s got a little oblique issue that we’re gonna go slow with,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Arizona Friday. “Don’t anticipate any problems. It’s responding really well and we’ll go from there.”

Shaw has not received any imaging on the injury. It is his left side and he has been dealing with it for 4 or 5 days after a swing in the batting cages.

At this point, the Cubs don’t have any long-term concerns with the injury.

“We’re day-to-day,” Counsell said. “It’s short enough to be day-by-day.”

[MORE: How Cubs plan to develop Matt Shaw in the wake of Alex Bregman news]

With the Cubs missing out on Alex Bregman, Shaw is the leading candidate to win the starting third base job out of camp.

The team traded Isaac Paredes to Houston in the Kyle Tucker deal in December. The Cubs also have several other players who could play third base, including veteran utility man Jon Berti and Rule 5 pick Gage Workman as well as minor-league signing Nicky Lopez and former top MLB prospect Vidal Bruján.

The 23-year-old Shaw is seen as a consensus Top 100 prospect in baseball, ranking as high as No. 19 by MLB Pipeline.

He was drafted as a shortstop but has also played second and third base in the minors, since the Cubs have the middle infield locked up right now with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner.

[WATCH: Breaking down swing and mechanical adjustments with Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly]

Shaw has been lighting up minor-league pitching since the Cubs made him the 13th overall pick in 2023. In 159 professional games, he is hitting .303/.384/.522 (.906 OPS) with 29 homers, 99 RBI and 46 stolen bases.

The Cubs open the 2025 regular season with a pair of games in Japan in just over a month. Despite that short timeline, the Cubs have no reason to push Shaw this early in camp.