Chicago Cubs Reporter Offers Honest Take on Star's Brutal Drop-Off

A Chicago Cubs reporter has honestly opened up about Dansby Swanson's brutal drop-off in 2024.

Jun 19, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) hits a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs are hoping to put together a big month of July to save their season. After struggling and limping through June, the Cubs could be playing for their jobs this month.

Jed Hoyer and the front office are not opposed to turning into sellers ahead of the trade deadline at the end of the month. If the team doesn't show some life and string wins together, it seems very likely that some players could be sent to new homes.

Among the potential trade candidates on the roster are Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, and Jameson Taillon.

Keeping that in mind, Chicago is still focused on winning. In order to get back to winning consistently, the Cubs will need their star players to play their best baseball.

One player that the team needs to figure things out and step up to begin winning is shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic recently offered a strong and honest take about Swanson. His drop-off has been extremely detrimental to the team's 2024 season.

"Swanson’s defense has been elite, especially lately, and he’s saved the team runs with his glove. But his offensive collapse has stood out on a team that’s been truly disappointing this season at the plate and has too many spots in the lineup where it’s not getting a competitive enough at-bat. ... This type of offensive drop-off is hard to overcome, especially with the Cubs’ offensive struggles in other areas, including catcher."

Throughout the 2024 season thus far, Swanson has played in 80 games. He has hit .204/.281/.341 to go along with eight home runs and 27 RBI.

Those numbers aren't going to get the job done. Swanson has become a weakness for Chicago.

As of right now, the Cubs giving him a massive seven-year, $177 million appears to have been an incredible mistake. He has come nowhere close to making himself worthy of that kind of money.

Hopefully, the 30-year-old shortstop can get back to finding success on the plate. If he can even revert back to the numbers he put up in 2023, he would help Chicago get back to winning.

It will be interesting to see if Swanson can turn his season around or if he'll continue making the Cubs regret their decision to give him such a big contract.