Chicago Cubs Skipper Reveals Surprising Reason for Star Player's Slow Start

There was a good reason why one of the Chicago Cubs star players got off to a slow start this season according to manager Craig Counsell.

Jul 12, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) hits a single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are in an interesting position this offseason.

After missing out on the playoffs again, they're search for a way to play in October. They have a roster that seems good enough on paper to win their division or at least be one of the three Wild Card teams.

However, something has been missing the past two years.

Whether it's poor output from the bullpen, untimely hitting, or a combination of things, the Cubs have come up short in their goal of playing fall baseball under two different managers.

There are certainly areas Chicago has to pursue in free agency to plug some of the clear holes that are on this roster, but the players already on this team also have to step up and perform better or they will continue to come up short.

Dansby Swanson is one of those players.

After signing a seven-year, $177 million deal with the Cubs ahead of the 2023 season, he's been solid, but not quite the gamechanger they were anticipating when they handed him that lucrative contract.

In his first year with the club, Swanson made the All-Star team and won his second Gold Glove Award for playing elite defense at shortstop, but his .244 batting average was the lowest number he'd produced since 2018.

Swanson finished with an OPS+ of 104 that was four points above the league average, so there was some hope he could improve during his second season in Chicago.

Unfortunately, that was not the case to start the 2024 campaign.

In 87 games prior to the All-Star break, the 30-year-old slashed .212/.282/.350 with nine homers and 31 RBI, striking out 91 times across his 306 at-bats.

The low output at the plate was concerning, and no amount of elite defense could overcome how little he was producing on offense.

He dealt with a knee sprain caused him to hit the injured list for just the minimum stint of 10 days, but according to manager Craig Counsell, that injury was the reason why he continued to struggle at the plate during the early part of the season.

"Dansby had an injury this year and that kind of derailed him in late April. It derailed him for a while, there's no question about it. So that's just what happened to him this season. I think that hurt him offensively. He was not in a great spot physically," he said per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

Swanson didn't discuss the injury with the team and if he was dealing with any symptoms. Instead, he just went out there and played everyday.

The star shortstop was able to turn things around in the second half, slashing .281/.352/.443 with seven homers and 35 RBI across his 62 games and 228 at-bats.

That was the player the Cubs thought they were handing a megadeal to back in 2022.

Hopefully the early struggles Swanson had was a result of his knee injury like Counsell is suggesting, and not something that could make this contract a huge dud that would be a major hit to this franchise.