The Cubs’ shortatop and spiritual leader is examined in this installment.
Dansby Swanson, former No. 1 pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks (also first overall), came to the Cubs as a free agent a year after the Braves’ 2021 championship season, and his residency has been controversial. His defense is right where it was expected to be, as he and Nico Hoerner form the middle of (potentially) one of the better infields in the sport.
But his bat hasn’t been up to his Atlanta standards. In 2022, his slash line was .277/.329/.447, with 25 homers and 96 RBI, good for 5.5 bWAR ( 6.6 fWAR), and he has regressed noticeably since then, turning in seasons of 22 and then 16 home runs. He did play in the 2023 All-Star game but 2024 wasn’t going to happen.
He needs to rebound in a big way to redeem himself to Cub fans, and that rebound is very possible given this slot in the order, where he follows Michael Busch and bats ahead of the redoubtable PCA, who has a tremendous ceiling and can start taking off once he possesses a little better strike-zone judgement.
But that’ll be the next installment. Here we’re about a guy who has accumulated 23.4 bWAR (25.3 fWAR) in a nine-year CAREER, and has twice exceeded the 25 home run plateau ((and recently, at that). The Cubs could use some of that SLG from the No. 5 spot, and he’ll have a prime opportunity to drive in a lot of runs with Busch, Suzuki, and Tucker in front of him.
He makes $177 million over the course of his seven-year deal, which leaves him as the only member of the team who is signed through 2027, when there might or might not be a season. We can hope that Kyle Tucker will join him, but right now, this is what it is.
He’s looked at to provide leadership. Swanson, a deeply religious man, also provides advice to those of his faith and holds up his own battles with anxiety as an example to people who would like to achieve.
He also has his own podcast, where he holds forth on college football and other staples and talks with his fellow players. It’s pretty good stuff, although a little under-exposed.
He’s the gateway to the lower part of the batting order, where there are a lot of question marks, and will have to answer the questions about his own hitting effectiveness. He could stand to take a few more walks, and cut down on the strikeouts. His resurgence could fuel a solid 162-game season and help the Cubs reach October. Or not, but he’s one of the most important players on the team in that regard.
Prognosticators have him at something like 21/80 for power production and .245/.315/.400 for a slash line. That needs to come up some to maybe .250/.333/.425, and the team could use 25 long balls from that spot. Swanson is certainly capable of numbers like that, and it will remain to be seen whether or not he fulfills that minimal promise.
Swanson has a plethora of good tools, and it would mean a lot to the team if he was able to use them.
Thanks for reading. As always, discuss among yourselves.