In the 2022 offseason, going into the 2023 season, some premier players were available on the free agency market for teams to consider bringing on to compete for championships. Specifically, the shortstop position was rich with options. Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson were all available that offseason to sign with whoever was the highest bidder.
The Chicago Cubs were among the teams on the market for a shortstop going into 2023. After the departure of Gold Glove Award winner Javier Baez, the Cubs gave most of the shortstop work to Nico Hoerner, whom they drafted in 2019. They planned to sign a shortstop in free agency and move Hoerner over to second base. The plan was executed when they agreed to a seven-year deal with Swanson worth $177 million.
This is the largest contract signed under the advisement of the President of Baseball Operations, Jed Hoyer. However, Hoyer has been with the Cubs since being hired as the General Manager after the 2011 season. Since then, the Cubs have signed some big contracts. One of the biggest was when they signed outfielder Jason Heyward to an eight-year deal worth $184 million.
As we all know, Heyward’s contract is remembered as one of the worst in team history. They won a World Series in his first year with the team, and he had some clutch moments at Wrigley Field. But as a whole, the contract aged poorly and may have scared the Cubs off from long, lucrative contracts in the future.
Swanson’s contract is for one less year and $7 million less, so the Cubs thought they were getting a bargain. However, his start with the team is alarmingly similar to Heyward’s.
Dansby Swanson Is Starting His Cubs Career Virtually The Same As Jason Heyward Did
Through 207 games to begin his Chicago Cubs career, Dansby Swanson has one less hit, a worse batting average, and slightly higher OBP than Jason Heyward did to start his Cubs career. We know how it turned out for Heyward. He ended with a .245 batting average and 62 home runs as a Cub through seven years. The Cubs released him at the end of 2022, even though they still had to pay him for 2023. He landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who re-signed him to a one-year, $9 million deal for 2024.
Swanson came to Chicago with expectations of being the veteran leader to lead the “next great Cubs team” to contend for a World Series. Through his first season and a half, the production is not meeting the marks the Cubs hoped for. Offensively, he is not finding his stride. Defensively, he won a Gold Glove Award in 2023. But he’s having one of his worst seasons in the field in 2024.
Swanson’s trajectory lining up as close as it does to Heyward’s production with the Cubs is hugely concerning for the Cubs and fans alike. The Cubs are relying on Swanson to turn it around and be better soon. However, now it’s in the back of fans’ heads that another big contract is on the verge of failure. Will the team shy away from spending because of another swing and miss? Hopefully, Swanson will turn it around before those thoughts come to fruition.
