CHICAGO – Dansby Swanson walked into the Cubs’ clubhouse – following a round of simulated game-like activities on the field Wednesday afternoon – and took a seat as his locker.
“I’ve had a wild 48 hours,” Swanson said.
The veteran Cubs shortstop was originally supposed to be in Omaha, Neb., where the initial plan called for Minor League rehab games with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain washed away Tuesday’s game and there was a risk of the second day also being impacted by the weather, so Chicago’s staff had to devise a new plan.
So Swanson was back at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, where he took six live at-bats against rehabbing pitchers Gavin Hollowell and Riley Martin. The shortstop also went through defensive work and baserunning, trying to simulate game intensity as much as possible in a controlled setting with the Cubs’ medical team and coaching staff looking on.
“We were kind of unwilling to leave him there just in case the weather didn’t really work out again,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “So we flew some pitchers here and we put together a little simulated thing for him today.”
Counsell said Swanson – on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique injury – will go through another workout on Thursday’s team off-day before the ballclub travels to Cincinnati for its three-game weekend series. Then, as planned, Swanson remains on target to be activated from the IL ahead of Friday’s game against the Reds.
“I feel good,” Swanson said. “I was able to do everything today with no issues.”
Swanson traveled to Omaha on Monday after going through that day’s work at Wrigley Field and was back in Chicago by Tuesday evening. It was a whirlwind journey that wound up disrupting the shortstop’s routine, but he was happy the Cubs managed to build a plan that will hopefully position him to be ready for the final nine games of the regular season.
“I don’t think anyone could have kind of predicted everything that happened,” Swanson said. “It’s one of those scenarios where we just kind of have to make the next-best decision we can. They were really thoughtful about the ways they wanted to go about it to get me as prepared as possible.”
In 119 games this season, the 32-year-old Swanson has hit .216 with 18 homers, 66 RBIs and a .704 OPS in what has been an up-and-down offensive season for the North Siders. The shortstop was, however, in a groove at the plate at the time of the oblique injury on Aug. 16. Swanson had a .937 OPS in the 12 games leading up to the trip to the IL.
Defensively, Swanson has been an anchor for the Cubs’ infield. Per Statcast, Swanson is in the 99th percentile in Outs Above Average (+16) this season and he currently has a +11 Fielding Run Value. It has been a Gold Glove-caliber showing within Chicago’s MLB-best defense. Entering Wednesday, the Cubs led MLB in both Fielding Run Value (+66) and Outs Above Average (+68).
Swanson was looking forward to stepping right back into the playoff chase for the Cubs, who are trying to secure the top Wild Card spot in the National League.
“This group is plenty talented,” Swanson said. “And there’s been a lot of great moments over the last few weeks. It’s just a matter of when it all comes together at once. Some special things can happen, and I think everybody in here knows that. We’ve got guys who have been a part of that before, so I’m just excited to continue on with it.”