Subscribe
Follow Us
The Chicago Cubs reportedly expect to have star shortstop Dansby Swanson back for the spring after offseason surgery.
“Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson underwent core injury surgery in early October, the Cubs announce, but is expected to be ready for spring training,” USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
This past season, his second with the Cubs, Swanson played 149 games and posted batting splits of .242 AVG / .312 OBP / .390 SLG / .701 OPS. For about a month during the first half of the season, he tried to gut through a knee injury, during which he found little success at the plate.
Fortunately, he recovered and began to find his footing; from June on, he batted .258 / .327 / .420 / .747 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs.
Swanson is entering the third season of a seven-year, $177 million contract he signed with the Cubs in December 2022.
A former first-overall draft pick, Swanson began his professional career with the Arizona Diamonbacks, who traded him to the Atlanta Braves in December 2015, just six months after drafting him. Swanson made his MLB debut with Atlanta eight months later, beginning what would prove to be a successful seven-year stint with the club.
After a strong final few months to his first season in MLB, Swanson struggled to find the same consistency until 2020 when he batted .274 / .345 / .464 / .809. The following season, while his numbers dipped, he was a part of the Braves' first World Series-winning team since 1995.
The next season, 2022, would prove to be Swanson's last in Atlanta. He earned his first All-Star and Gold Glove selection after having one of his best seasons and playing every game of the year.
During the offseason before the 2023 season, Swanson left the Braves for the Cubs in free agency. In his first year with Chicago, he gained All-Star and Gold Glove honors.
In his two seasons in Chicago, Swanson has seen little team success with the Cubs. The club has finished 83-79 and as the NL Central runners-up each year, missing the postseason both times. Swanson had made the playoffs each of his last four years with the Braves before signing with the Cubs.
