Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday he was weighing whether it is the right time to sit Dansby Swanson as the team endures a prolonged losing stretch, but he kept the shortstop in the lineup for the day.
Swanson was moved up to the No. 6 spot Wednesday and collected a second-inning double in a 5-4 loss to the Athletics — his fifth hit in his last 12 games — but he entered the day batting just.181, the third-lowest mark among baseball’s qualified hitters.
The decision is happening against a backdrop of real pain for the Cubs: they have lost 18 of 23 games and dropped the first two of the series in Oakland. Counsell has already been willing to make lineup interventions this season; he pinch-hit for Swanson late Tuesday, sending Moises Ballesteros to the plate, and said he thinks through the timing and necessity of moves. "You certainly consider all those things, and you think about them [and whether it’s] the right time and if it’s necessary. All those things, you think about," he said.
Counsell did not signal an immediate benching. He emphasized the wider problem when he added, "We’re not winning a lot of baseball games right now" and that the team simply is not producing enough to earn wins. He also offered a direct vote of confidence in Swanson’s future at the plate: "This isn’t going to continue for Dansby. He’s going to be better."
Still, there is a precedent for short-term rest. Counsell sat Ian Happ in back-to-back games last month while Happ was hitting.148 over 17 games; after a couple games off, Happ went on a run, hitting.316 with eight extra-base hits in nine games. That example is now an obvious reference point in the clubhouse and to the manager as he considers different remedies.
Analysts have pointed to reasons Swanson has remained in the lineup despite the drop in production: defensive value at shortstop and some promising peripherals. A recent review noted May was his worst month since 2017 — he hit.151 with a.448 OPS and one home run in May — but also showed a career-best 13.3% walk rate and a 23.0% strikeout rate that would be his best since 2019. The same review flagged poor quality of contact — Swanson sits in the 5th percentile for launch-angle sweet spot — which helps explain the low batting average even as he keeps drawing walks and making plays in the field.
The Cubs’ offense is not carrying him alone: only six teams scored fewer runs per game than Chicago in May, and other regulars have struggled as well. Those broader issues complicate any simple fix. Counsell has already used a pinch-hitter for Swanson and said he does not expect that to become a frequent pattern, leaving the manager torn between matchup moves and preserving a regular shortstop position.
What happens next is the central unanswered question. Counsell has not ordered a benching, and the club’s upcoming schedule — including two series each against the Rockies and Giants over the next 15 games and at least three left-handers expected this week — gives him several tactical opportunities to rest Swanson or alter the lineup without a long-term commitment. The pivotal decision now is whether Counsell will follow the Happ example with a brief, targeted break to try to reset Swanson, or keep riding his defense and hope the bat returns on its own.
