The Dansby Swanson injury has dealt a significant blow to the Chicago Cubs, who placed their Gold Glove shortstop on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a left oblique strain, according to MLB.com. The move came a day after Swanson abruptly exited Sunday's 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, grimacing in pain and yanking off his helmet in visible discomfort.
Swanson's trouble began in the bottom of the third inning when he swung and missed at a 95.7 mph first-pitch fastball from Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins, according to The New York Times. He immediately felt something give in his left side, tossed his helmet to the ground, and walked off the field. Rookie James Triantos entered as a pinch-hitter and eventually moved to second base, while Nico Hoerner shifted over to shortstop for the remainder of the game.
The Cubs initially described the ailment only as "left side discomfort," a vague label that, as the Times noted, can make it difficult to project a realistic return timeline. Manager Craig Counsell later clarified that the injury was located in Swanson's oblique and said it was "severe enough" to require a trip to the injured list. Swanson underwent an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of the damage.
"It just felt like my left side kind of tightened up on me," Swanson said, according to MLB.com. "It obviously was enough where I didn't feel like I needed to keep going."
Swanson said he was trying not to get ahead of himself while awaiting the imaging results. "I really haven't gotten that far," he told reporters, according to the Times. "We're trying to not let the mind go to any places like that right now, because that's not going to do anybody any good." He added, "Everything's kind of TBD. I've never really been in a position like this before, so it's unfortunate, but hopefully we'll get some good news and move forward."
Oblique strains are notoriously unpredictable for hitters, often sidelining players for several weeks rather than the minimum 10-day stint. With roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season, the timing could hardly be worse for a Cubs team that, per MLB.com, currently leads the National League Wild Card standings while still chasing the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
The injury is especially costly because of what Swanson has meant to a Cubs defense that MLB.com reports led all of baseball in both fielding run value (63) and outs above average (59) entering Sunday's game, according to Statcast data. The Toronto Blue Jays (34 fielding run value) and the Cardinals (31) ranked a distant second in that category, while the Cardinals also trailed in outs above average with 31. Swanson himself has posted a 12 fielding run value, eighth among all qualified fielders in MLB, and 16 outs above average, fifth overall.
Now 32, Swanson built his durable, workhorse reputation during his years with the Atlanta Braves, where he helped the club win the 2021 World Series before signing a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs after the 2022 season, as the Times detailed. Through 119 games this season, Swanson is hitting .216/.300/.404 with 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 66 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. His production has been streaky at times, but MLB.com noted that since June 29 — following a hot three-game stretch with five homers and eight hits — he has posted a .489 slugging percentage and an .815 OPS.
In Swanson's absence, Hoerner, a two-time Gold Glove second baseman, is expected to take over full-time at shortstop, a position he played before Swanson's arrival in Chicago. Counsell said rookie Pedro Ramirez will get starts at second base while Swanson is out, and the Times reported that Matt Shaw, who has been on a lengthy injured list stint of his own, could eventually factor into the infield mix as he nears a return.
"Obviously, Dansby has been an incredibly durable player," Counsell said, according to both MLB.com and the Times, "and we have not needed to use it very much, but this is something else that Nico brings to the table. And that's an important thing that he brings to the table. It's obviously going to be highlighted in the next couple weeks."
Hoerner, who has spent much of his career building chemistry with Swanson up the middle, acknowledged the difficulty of replacing him. "There's no replacing Dansby," Hoerner said, according to MLB.com. "It just stinks. Yeah, I think our team's in a good place to handle it, but I think you're also going to feel just how valuable Dansby is in his absence, right? That's a hard thing to cover."
Swanson struck a more optimistic tone about the Cubs' depth, pointing to a roster built with defensive versatility across multiple positions. "There's not really a better group in the world to handle something like this," he said, "just with the depth of players we have, the quality of players we have, the ability for guys to play multiple positions at Gold Glove level. We never want injuries to happen, but this is part of the game. We've done a good job of just building a good group together that can be strong and unified and can handle anything."
For now, Swanson said he plans to stay engaged with his teammates even while sidelined. "Obviously, I want to be out there every day," he said. "I think kind of my whole career I've been like that — just wanting to play and do everything I can to win. In the meantime, people call me 'Coach' for a reason, so I can find some fun ways to be useful." The Cubs are expected to provide an update on Swanson's timeline once doctors finish reviewing Monday's MRI results.
