The Chicago Cubs are one of the highest-spending teams in MLB. They have shown a willingness to spend money on free agents and retain their players to try to put the best possible product on the field. This season, the Chicago Cubs rank seventh in spending but don’t have the productivity to match.
One of their top acquisitions and earners is shortstop Dansby Swanson. Before the 2023 season, he signed a 7-year/$177M contract, leaving the Atlanta Braves, the team he won a World Series with in 2021, in favor of the up-and-coming Cubs roster. The anticipated winning and momentum from when Swanson signed his contract have fallen flat. The question is how much of the blame should fall at his feet.
Chicago Cubs Aggressive Free Agency
Dansby Swanson has been a winner in his baseball career. He delivered a CWS championship to Vanderbilt University in college, and after being traded as a minor leaguer from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Atlanta Braves, was a key cog in their 2021 World Series win.
The Chicago Cubs were counting on that winning pedigree when they signed him after the 2022 season. The Cubs inked Swanson to a 7-year/$177M deal, hoping he would help usher in the next great Cubs team. The team had been in a rut following the departure of the core of the 2016 World Series Championship team, and the Swanson signing was a beacon of hope and promise for the club’s future, allowing Nico Hoerner to move over to second base.
The Chicago Cubs fell one game shy of making the playoffs in 2023, finishing with an 83-79 record. The season took fans to the end of the year and gave them anticipation for the season ahead, something that could not be said about previous years. Swanson’s winning attitude even spurred the team on by pleading with the front office not to sell at the trade deadline when the Cubs fluttered around .500.
Flat Start to 2024
The team’s performance has sullied the enthusiasm and hope for the 2024 Chicago Cubs. Unlike last year, no honeymoon effect is working in Dansby Swanson’s favor. The team has underachieved, and he has struggled mightily throughout the year. He was never the greatest hitter, but his defense has left much to be desired. It doesn’t help that his replacement in Atlanta, Orlando Arcia, was an All-Star in 2023.
At the plate, Swanson is hitting a lowly .209 with 9 HR, 30 RBI, and a .282 OBP in 83 games. Early in the year, his arm was a hindrance more than an asset, making four errors and countless throws more difficult for first-year first baseman Michael Busch, goating him into a handful of fielding errors himself.
The struggles seem to be eating away at Swanson’s intangibles as well. Whereas last year, he voiced his support for keeping the team together and fighting to turn the tables of the year. This season, Swanson has been nonplussed by questions about the club, saying, “It’s June, man. It’s only June,” when asked about the team’s struggles.
A Free Agency Blunder?
A year and a half into Dansby Swanson’s experience on the north side of Chicago, the results have been underwhelming. For the return he has delivered, and because his salary commitment restricts the Cubs from doing more, he has to produce better than what he has thus far.
As the trade deadline approaches, the CBT looms large over the Cubs’ ability to buy, and that is due in no small part to the Swanson contract. There is still time for the Cubs to determine what they plan to do, but the best solution is on the roster right now.
There is still time for Swanson to change the course of his Chicago Cubs career. He has been a winner and resolved competitor his entire baseball life and could turn it around quickly. He is with the right club to make a huge difference in the season’s final months for a team that needs a leader, a dazzling shortstop, and a clutch bat in the lineup.
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