The Chicago Cubs have an asset in shortstop Dansby Swanson, although moments of frustration have colored much of his nearly two-and-a-half seasons with the team.
When signed to a 7-year, $177 million contract prior to the 2023 season, the team was aiming to get the multi-tool elite defender from the Atlanta Braves who could put up top tier offensive numbers while also being an anchor in the middle infield.
They got all of that, but not necessarily all at the same time and, frustratingly often, with long patches of offensive non-performance between spurts of production.
This Is Prime Dansby Swanson
The Swanson playing for the Cubs right now, though, is the one the team hoped for when opening up their bankbook in December of 2022. It’s a Swanson who can not only play Gold Glove-level defense, but who can energize an offense with his production as well as excel at small ball.
In Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the veteran, with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning, beat out what appeared to be a routine ground ball to shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Although the Cubs were already up 1-0, Swanson’s hustle down the line allowed for a much-appreciated insurance run to come in.
“It’s a small thing,” Counsell told reporters after the game, “but I think that all your teammates see and you see the benefit of it. When you ground out to shortstop, you’re frustrated, right? But he said, ‘I’ll be frustrated after five seconds,’ and he put together a great, hard 90 [feet].”
…On Flow Headband Giveaway Day
It just so happened that the easily overlooked and not very highlight reel-friendly play came on Dansby Swanson Flow Headband giveaway day in Wrigley Field, with fans wearing a ridiculous mop-top black wig attached to Swanson’s trademark headwear. Up until the eighth, the shortstop was 0-for-3 and headed for a frustrating end to a game where Swanson facsimile hair/headband combos littered the stands.
“I was just running in anger, maybe,” Swanson told media. “That’s kind of the way you get it out. Not everything’s going to go perfect. Not everything’s going to go the way you want it to in a game. There’s moments in the season — there’s struggles, there’s ups and downs — but effort is always one thing you can consistently give.”
That attitude has been key to his ability to contribute to a team when the numbers may not necessarily note those contributions.
The Chicago Cubs’ Consistent Contributor
Just this season, up until April 28, Swanson was hitting .181. The feeble offensive production was starting to stir up talks of what to do with the big money free agent acquisition, just as his inconsistent offensive production did in 2023 and 2024 as well. In the two prior seasons, Swanson was reportedly playing through injury. This year, though, after offseason core surgery, the 31-year-old was supposed to be fully healthy.
Swanson came back from a miserable start to the 2025 campaign, hitting .293 with a. 360 on base percentage and six home runs in May.
But through the ups and downs with the bat, Swanson has worked to be an asset in one way or another.
“The one thing with Dansby,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly recently told The Athletic, “is he wants to win. He’s doing everything he possibly can to win. Even if offensively it’s not there, he’s playing great defense. He’s running the bases. He’s beating out double-play balls. He’s going first to third.
“There’s a winning attitude that comes with him. You wouldn’t know that he’s 0-for-12 or 12-for-12 if at the end of that night ‘Go Cubs Go’ is playing.”
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