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.
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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.
