The Chicago Cubs were hoping for better circumstances this week, when shortstop Dansby Swanson was supposed to play in a couple of rehab games at Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs. Inclement weather changed those plans, so Swanson instead played in a simulated game at Wrigley Field before the team left for their road trip. Swanson has missed the Cubs’ last 28 games, but he was activated off the injured list on Friday and is batting ninth against the Cincinnati Reds.
Again, no real game action for Swanson, who was sidelined for a month because of a left oblique strain, so it could take him a few games to knock off the rust. Still, his presence will be a great boost in the infield, as the defense has taken a bit of a step back at second base, since Nico Hoerner was shifted over to shortstop to fill in for Swanson during the past month.
The Cubs optioned rookie BJ Murray back to Triple-A to make space on the active roster for Swanson’s return.
Prior to the injury, Swanson was on his way to another solid month in August. The right-handed-hitting shortstop recorded a .795 OPS in 43 at-bats during August, with a .353 OBP in 14 games.
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Since June 17, Swanson has a slash line of .270/.326/.534 with 11 home runs and a 134 wRC+ in 49 games.
Swanson’s return for the final nine games of the regular season will most likely cost rookie Pedro Ramirez some at-bats down the stretch. The switch-hitting infielder received the majority of the starts at second base, with Hoerner moving over to shortstop while Swanson recovered. Veteran Michael Conforto has been the primary DH as of late, so we’ll see how the Cubs manager uses Ramirez and Matt Shaw moving forward.
(Previous Update)
Hey, some fairly good news to report, as the Chicago Cubs are expecting to welcome back starting shortstop Dansby Swanson from the injured list potentially as soon as next weekend’s series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Swanson has been out since he tweaked his left oblique during a plate appearance against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 16. From the moment Swanson flung his bat in disgust after feeling the injury, fans feared that he would be out for the rest of the regular season, if not for the rest of the year. Oblique strains can be extremely detrimental, and one wrong move could derail the rehab process.
Luckily, Swanson is on track to return exactly when the Cubs initially said he would. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 17, and Craig Counsell told reporters that the team expected Swanson to be able to recover from the Grade 2 left oblique strain in about four weeks.
Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Counsell provided the latest update on Swanson, who will get some sort of game action prior to being cleared to come off the injured list.
The Cubs return to Wrigley Field following Wednesday’s series finale against the Brewers. There were more positive signs from Swanson as he was seen taking some swings at American Family Field.
On Friday, the Cubs begin a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, followed by a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves starting Monday, Sept. 14. We’ll see if Swanson heads out to Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs on Sunday, when the team plays its last home game of the season. Iowa ends the year with six games on the road in Omaha.
So, the plan could be some playing time for Swanson on Sunday, followed by action in Arizona for a few days before he potentially joins the team in Cincinnati next weekend. That would give Swanson nine games to knock off the rust before the postseason.
Prior to the injury, Swanson posted a .704 OPS with 18 home runs in 119 games. The 32-year-old shortstop also ranks No. 1 at his position in the National League (and third overall in MLB) with 16 Outs Above Average, while also ranking fourth among all MLB shortstops with a Fielding Run Value of 11 this year.
Swanson has recorded a 3.4 fWAR so far in 2026, the fourth-highest among NL shortstops.
