The Cubs lost one of their most important players at a very inopportune time.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson was placed on the 10-day IL after an early exit from the team’s 11-4 loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Sunday.
Swanson, 32, left the game in the third inning after an awkward swing and miss on the first pitch from St. Louis starter Hunter Dobbins before immediately heading toward the dugout.
It was revealed after the game to be an oblique injury that could easily cost him the rest of the regular season with a traditional four- to six-week recovery.
He will undergo imaging on Monday, the team said.
“I just felt like my left side kind of tightened up on me,” Swanson told reporters after the game.
Rookie James Triantos finished the at-bat by drawing a walk before Nico Hoerner moved from second to short.
Hoerner will likely make that move permanently with Swanson out.
The Cubs are in a battle for playoff positioning, five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central race and 5 ½ games ahead while sitting in the top NL wild-card spot after back-to-back losses.
Swanson, a two-time Gold Glove winner, was hitting 216/.300/.404 with 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 66 RBIs and 17 stolen bases this season.
Defensively, he has made just six errors this season and ranked eighth in all of baseball in Fielding Run Value (12), according to Baseball Savant.
“He’s critical to our defense,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said during the ESPN broadcast. “He’s one of the better shortstops in the game. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”
This is Swanson’s first IL stint since May 2024.
