JUST IN: The Chicago Cubs are reportedly “surprised” after a recent decision involving a $177 million, 2-time All-Star player. This player is none other than shortstop Dansby Swanson, who signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs in 2022. Swanson’s performance has been a topic of discussion, especially after his numbers dipped in 2024. His OPS slipped to .701, and he hit only 16 homers, a significant drop from his previous seasons. This decline has raised concerns about…
The Chicago Cubs already began the 2025 Major League Baseball season a few weeks ago in Japan against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chicago lost both contests against the Dodgers and now will try to get back on track against the Diamondbacks. Shortstop Dansby Swanson collected two hits in the two games in Japan. It’s nice to see him back at full strength.
He had surgery after the season to address a core injury. The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg shared question and answer with Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and he shared that he was at least somewhat “surprised” Swanson had the surgery.
“He was banged up early, for sure,” Hoyer said as transcribed by Greenberg. “He got better. I think his second half was better than his first half, certainly. But yeah, he was definitely feeling it last year, and you know that affected his offense. To his credit, he still played great defense, and he was still a valuable player for us. But the first half wasn’t up to his standards, and we were a little bit surprised at the end of the year when he decided to have surgery. But that also told us a lot about him, the fact that he kind of grinded through it.”
Swanson still was able to appear in 149 games last year but missed the All-Star game after making it for two straight years. He’s entering the third year of a seven-year, $177 million deal and it should be another great campaign. Hopefully, he and the Cubs can make a run in the National League Central.
