How the Cubs will handle Dansby Swanson’s absence as he could miss a month

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs placed shortstop Dansby Swanson on the injured list before Monday’s game with a strained left oblique. Manager Craig Counsell said that Swanson, who had an MRI Monday morning, would “probably” miss four weeks.

“Dansby’s ready to attack the injury and do whatever he can to make this go as quick as possible,” Counsell said a day after Swanson exited Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals with the injury.

While this isn’t a worst-case scenario, Counsell wasn’t ready to spin it in too positive a light.

“I don’t know if there’s any silver linings to this,” Counsell said, “but we’ll get Dansby back this year.”

In Swanson’s absence, Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner will shift to shortstop while rookie Pedro Ramírez is expected to get the everyday reps at second.

“You’re going to see that a lot,” Counsell said. “Matt Shaw is nearing rehab. If he has a good day (Monday), he’ll play on Wednesday in Iowa. He’s going to beat Dansby back, assuming everything goes well. So that’s the next thing happening.”

Swanson is the backbone of the Cubs’ elite infield defense. By every advanced metric, the Cubs have lapped the league defensively. Losing him isn’t easy to overcome. But the team’s depth is a strength this year, and it does have the personnel to avoid a major defensive drop-off in Swanson’s absence.

Dansby Swanson, left, and Nico Hoerner have been anchors for the best defense in baseball. (Michael Hirschuber / Getty Images)

Hoerner has two Gold Gloves at second base but has just 203 innings at shortstop over the last three seasons. However, in 2022, the season before Swanson arrived in Chicago, Hoerner manned shortstop on a daily basis. In that season, he showed he was more than capable of handling the position regularly. He finished the year second to Swanson among shortstops in Outs Above Average and fourth in Fielding Run Value.

“Nico’s put up a great shortstop season,” Counsell said. “That’s another thing that makes you feel really good about it. He has not played a lot of games there the last three years. That’s the only thing that’s different about playing shortstop for him.”

Counsell explained that the lack of reps means there are just some things that Hoerner won’t be as used to doing as he is at second.

“Nico can pick up a groundball as good as anybody,” Counsell said. “But there’s still some plays that you get to the edgier range, some tricky hops and balls he has to come into, that he hasn’t made frequently because he hasn’t played there.”

Hoerner will also have to develop a rapport with Ramírez as his new double-play partner. The latter has quickly earned playing time in his first year in the big leagues. A minor-league Gold Glove winner at third base last season, Ramírez has ample experience at second as well. He’s shown that the Cubs don’t lose much defensively when he’s on the field and has earned regular at-bats while posting a 119 wRC+ in 140 plate appearances.

“Pedro’s a good player, bottom line,” Counsell said. “I told you out of spring training, if Pedro has to come and play every day in April, I’m good with it. This is after (140) major-league at-bats where he’s really performed. He’s more than ready for this.”

Shaw has been on the IL since late June with a nagging wrist issue. His time on the shelf has lasted much longer than originally expected, but Shaw recently crossed some major hurdles and is close to a rehab assignment. He’s also a plus defender at multiple positions and was a Gold Glove finalist last season after playing third base regularly for the first time in his career. Shaw was drafted as a shortstop out of Maryland in 2023, has played all over the infield in the minors and quickly took to right field this season after Alex Bregman was signed in the winter, taking Shaw’s spot at third.

Still, Swanson’s absence can’t be ignored. He’s as consistent as they come at shortstop. By OAA, he entered play Monday as the second-best defender at the position behind Bobby Witt Jr. His brilliant defense was key for the Cubs last fall during their series win over the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round.

The Cubs are likely deep enough to weather this storm in the short term. But they have to cross their fingers and hope Swanson’s rehab goes smoothly. Oblique injuries are notoriously fickle, and Counsell was clear that four weeks was their best guess for now. The Cubs are lucky to have depth, but they certainly want to be at full strength come October. Getting Swanson back before the end of the season and prepared for the playoffs will be essential for a team so reliant on its defense.