Cubs consider – Craig Counsell hasn’t sat Dansby Swanson yet, but he’s openly considering the move as the Cubs’ shortstop struggles at the plate and the offense has continued to sputter during the team’s recent skid.
For fans who’ve watched Dansby Swanson’s batting average slide well below .200, the question has grown louder by the week: when is the Cubs manager going to make the move and sit him?
It didn’t happen Wednesday. Swanson was still in the lineup, and he was even bumped up to the No. 6 spot. He doubled in his first at-bat against the Athletics—just his fifth hit in his last 12 games.
Craig Counsell didn’t close the door on a benching, either. “You certainly consider all those things,” he said. “and you think about them [and whether it’s] the right time and if it’s necessary. All those things, you think about.”
That kind of language doesn’t sound like an immediate decision. But Counsell has used the same basic tactic with a different veteran already this season. Last month, he sat left fielder Ian Happ in back-to-back games.
At the time, Happ was in the middle of a brutal stretch, hitting .148 over 17 games. He later got a couple of games in a row off, and when he returned, his hitting picked up. Since then, Happ has been one of the team’s better bats, batting .294 in eight games.
Swanson’s slump has been especially hard for fans to ignore because of what it represents for the team. His .181 batting average was the third lowest among baseball’s qualified hitters coming into Wednesday. and his salary ranks second highest on the Cubs’ payroll—making his struggles feel personal to an organization that can’t afford to get him wrong.
But the Cubs’ offense has been a wider problem than one player. Over the past few weeks, it has looked broken, and Tuesday night offered a brutal snapshot. In a loss to the Athletics, the Cubs recorded four hits total—singles only—and scored one run. It was the team’s 17th defeat in their previous 22 games.
Counsell acknowledged how difficult it can be to find a single switch that instantly fixes things. “One of the challenging things about our game is that sometimes you do have to wait for things to happen. ” he said. “As much as you want to put your finger on [something] and say. ‘Change it. ’ the game makes you wait. makes you sit in discomfort for a little while. tests you.”.
Still, Counsell did make a move during Tuesday’s game. He pinch-hit for Swanson late in the contest, sending Moises Ballesteros to the plate in Swanson’s stead. The rationale was that Ballesteros could provide something different—hitting the ball out of the ballpark on a night when runs were at a premium.
Even with that change, the picture didn’t brighten immediately. Ballesteros didn’t look like a clear upgrade. He has struggled mightily in a midseason stretch, including a 6-for-69 run.
Counsell’s message to fans and to Swanson has been steady even if the results haven’t been. “This isn’t going to continue for Dansby. He’s going to be better,” Counsell said. “We’re just at a moment in time right now. I don’t think [pinch hitting for him is] going to happen very often. He’s going to be better.”.
The timing, though, is exactly what’s under debate. Swanson hasn’t been benched yet, and Wednesday’s lineup move suggests Counsell is still giving him runway. But Counsell is also weighing the same kind of adjustments he made with Happ when the results dropped.
As the Cubs try to stabilize what’s happening at the plate. they’re also managing what’s next beyond the next at-bat. Javier Assad’s potential return to the big league roster is being discussed. with the right-hander having gone just one inning in his most recent start for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday. The plan, Counsell said, is to keep him fresh if he’s needed in the coming days.
“We’re just being cautious with things that could happen over the weekend,” Counsell said.
Utility man Matt Shaw’s rehab assignment with Iowa is another piece of the same juggling act. Counsell said Shaw’s time on the assignment could be relatively lengthy as the Cubs try to get the bench player some regular playing time while he works back from a tight back.
Cubs Craig Counsell Dansby Swanson Ian Happ Athletics Moises Ballesteros Javier Assad Matt Shaw MLB