MLB Analyst Gets Brutally Honest About Struggling Cubs' Star

An MLB analyst spoke out with brutal honesty about a Chicago Cubs struggling star.

Aug 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) throws to first base in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs still have a slight chance of getting into the MLB postseason. Right now, their chances sit at a very low 4.4 percent. However, there is still a chance.

Unfortunately, the Cubs have played themselves into that hole. They have had many opportunities to win games, but have come up short in way too many of those opportunities.

Outside of the disappointment that comes with losing, Chicago has had another major disappointment this year.

Dansby Swanson has had a very poor season. In his second year with the team after signing a big seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs, he has fallen way short of expectations.

On the season so far, Swanson has played in 112 games. He has hit just nine home runs to go along with 41 RBI. Swanson has slashed .228/.297/.350.

Needless to say, those numbers are nothing close to what he was expected to produce.

Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer called out Swanson in his article about the "biggest red flag for each team" in baseball. His section on Chicago was titled, "Is It Too Early for a Dansby Swanson Postmortem?"

"The Cubs do have reasons to believe they can make a better run at October next season, but one of them is predicated on their $177 million shortstop having a rebound year. And to this end, it's not merely Swanson's .648 OPS that gives off palpable decline energy."

At 30 years old, there should be no reason that Swanson is already starting to fall off. Even though the 2024 season has been bad, the team should still have high hopes that its shortstop can figure things out next year.

In the month of August, Swanson has been much better. He has driven in nine RBI and has been batting .295/.347/.386. Those numbers are much better than the rest of the year.

That being said, it is definitely too early for a "postmortem" of Swanson. He has been bad this season, there is no defending that. But, he has shown flashes of figuring out his issues at the plate.

While there is no guarantee that Swanson will bounce back next season, there are reasons for optimism. If he doesn't come back strong in 2025, the Cubs may have some thinking to do about how to get out from under his contract.