Dansby Swanson stayed in the Cubs’ everyday lineup on Wednesday despite carrying a.175 batting average into the game, the worst mark among qualified hitters. Chicago is not acting like a team ready to bench its shortstop, even with the bat in a prolonged slump.
Swanson helped with a two-run homer into the bleachers as part of the Cubs’ seven-run second inning. That swing did not change the larger decision around him, but it showed why the club is still willing to keep running him out there.
Hoyer on Swanson’s slump
Jed Hoyer said Tuesday that Swanson had struggled and had already gotten some days off. He also pointed to the club’s offensive frustration while stressing that the team cannot ignore what it does well on the other side of the ball.
“Obviously, Dansby has struggled,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “He’s gotten some days off. He’s working hard to improve. The offense has been a challenge, overall. It shouldn’t be, in general. We should score plenty of runs, but that hasn’t been the case.”
Hoyer tied that to the Cubs’ run prevention. “Our run prevention is probably the backbone of this team. … We prevent runs really well. We won a game in San Francisco the other day because we played great defense, honestly. So you can’t just forget about that when we start to struggle a bit offensively.” He added, “We can’t just run away from our run prevention at times when we struggle offensively.”
Craig Counsell keeps investing
Craig Counsell went even further on Wednesday, saying the Cubs should keep putting Swanson on the field and keep trying to get him back to the hitter they believe he can be. “I think we should be continuing to invest in Dansby getting back to the offensive player that we know he is,” Counsell said.
“That’s what needs to happen for this team. That’s important to keep trying to do, and the best way to do that is to have him out on the field.”
The numbers explain why the Cubs are weighing patience against production. Swanson entered Wednesday with a.235 batting average and a.705 OPS in four seasons with the club, and last year he hit 24 homers, the third highest single-season total of his career. He had also gone 24 games without a home run before the blast on Wednesday.
Cubs value defense over benching
The cost of that patience is obvious in the box score. Swanson entered Wednesday at.175, and his 12.7 percent walk rate was the highest clip of his career. At the same time, he is the second highest paid player on the roster with a $28 million salary, which makes his spot in the lineup part performance bet and part roster reality.
That is where the Cubs’ larger identity comes back into focus. A year after winning the team Gold Glove, they were again the best defensive team in baseball according to multiple metrics, and Hoyer said the win in San Francisco came because of great defense. For now, that is the side of the roster Chicago is choosing to trust while Swanson tries to pull his offense back into place.
