Turns Out Another Cubs Star Had Offseason Surgery

Hey, remember when the Cubs announced that Nico Hoerner had surgery in October and we were like oh shit, hopefully he’s fine by the time spring training begins? Yeah, the Cubs announced that less than two weeks after Hoerner had his flexor tendon surgery, so it’s a little odd to say the least that the team announced just today, Dec. 7, that Dansby Swanson also had surgery back in October.

What makes the timing slightly more weird is the vagueness of the surgery. The only specifics we know is that Swanson underwent surgery to resolve a core injury. The good news is that the team says the gold glove shortstop is not expected to miss any time because of the procedure.

The Cubs announce shortstop Dansby Swanson underwent successful surgery on a core injury in early October.

Swanson is not expected to miss any time as a result of the surgery.

— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) December 7, 2024

Swanson, 30, did miss time on the injured list during the 2024 season, but that was a right-knee sprain that he initially played through in April and ultimately missed 10 days in May. The shortstop ended the year playing in 149 games and slashed .242/.312/.390, with 16 home runs. His 99 wRC+ dipped below league average for the first time since 2021. Still, backed by another elite defensive season at shortstop, Swanson was worth 4.3 fWAR in 2024.

I do have to note, while Swanson’s offensive numbers were down this past season he did bounce back in the final three months of the year. From July 10 through the end of the regular season Swanson posted a 126 wRC+ in 278 plate appearances with a slash line of .288/.353/.452, hitting 8 home runs and stealing 14 bases.

So, let’s hope that Swanson will indeed be fine and that by the time spring training begins he won’t have any restrictions. Tough to speculate on what the injury could have been, but generally a core surgery could mean a hernia or a back issue. But again, we don’t actually know and probably won’t know until Swanson addresses the media.