On April 29, Cubs manager Craig Counsell made a drastic decision in the starting lineup, moving shortstop Dansby Swanson out of the middle of the batting order to the No. 8 spot. Swanson was putting up woeful numbers at the time, not coming through with runners in scoring position and striking out in more than 40% of his plate appearances in a multi-week slump.

Well, ever since that decision Swanson hasn’t just gotten back on track, he hasn’t just been good, he’s been a top-five hitter among all players in MLB.

Top-5 MLB Hitters Since April 29
Aaron Judge: .394/.481/.833, 255 wRC+
Freddie Freeman: .449/.487/.768, 241 wRC+
Shohei Ohtani: .347/.432/.853, 238 wRC+
Rafael Devers: .406/.494/.710, 234 wRC+
Dansby Swanson: .387/.458/.710, 219 wRC+

Counsell stuck with Swanson in the No. 8 spot for a week straight and a stretch of 9 out 10 games. Since May 10, Swanson has been moved all around the Cubs’ lineup and he’s continued to his explosive offensive production. In his last 33 plate appearances the shortstop is 10-for-27, with 3 home runs, five walks and four strikeouts. Swanson has done that out of the leadoff spot for one game, fifth spot for one game and three apiece batting sixth and seventh, respectively.

It was getting rough near the end of April for Swanson. He was down to a .577 OPS after a series against the Phillies and had a stretch of striking out 27 times in a 15-game span. Swanson went from that to now slashing .253/.315/.472, and a 118 wRC+ overall in 2025.

Swanson enters Monday night’s series opener against the Marlins leading all shortstops in home runs with 10. At this current rate, Swanson is on pace to hit 34 home runs for the Cubs this season. Swanson’s previous career-high in home runs in a single season came in 2021, when he hit 27 out of the park with the Braves.

Swanson had offseason surgery to take care of a sports hernia that he played through during the 2024 season. He’s the highest-paid player on the team and although fans do expect every player to do what’s best for the team, we obviously know that that’s not always the case. So, credit to Counsell for making the move and to Swanson for setting his ego aside and batting lower in the lineup. It’s turned out to be great for the Cubs and for Swanson.

Dansby Swanson’s Hitting Struggles

Craig Counsell has seen enough. Shortstop Dansby Swanson has been struggling to produce positive results through the first month of the 2025 season and his prolonged slumped has forced Counsell to move Swanson way down in the Cubs starting lineup.

Following an off day the Cubs start a three-game series on the road Tuesday night against the Pirates. Swanson remains in the lineup, but now the right-handed hitter is slotted in the No. 8 spot in the batting order. That’s one of two major moves in the lineup as catcher Carson Kelly is batting in the cleanup spot, while Michael Busch gets the start against left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney.

Swanson enters Tuesday’s game with a slash line of .181/.232/.345, in 126 plate appearances. He’s still providing elite defense at shortstop, but Swanson has been awful in the middle of the lineup, batting fifth all year and rarely coming through with men on base.

At least during the first couple weeks of the regular season Swanson was making quality contact. He certainly ran into some tough luck, but as of late he’s been flat out awful. Since April 9, Swanson has not homered and has only posted a .376 OPS in 65 plate appearances. Those struggles have come with a strikeout rate of 41.5%.