CHICAGO — Dansby Swanson’s comeback story of the 2021 Atlanta Braves would have more oomph if the Chicago Cubs hadn’t already used it as an encouraging reminder right around this same time last season. Asking Yan Gomes about the 2019 Washington Nationals would be awkward because the Cubs just designated the veteran catcher for assignment. Both of those championship teams were cited as examples last year when the Cubs began their midseason turnaround. You have to start somewhere.
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No one knows whether this week’s series win over the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field will be a jumping-off point. The boos for Héctor Neris turned into a standing ovation for Kyle Hendricks, who pitched like The Professor of old. The offense finally started to warm up along with the weather, scoring 17 runs on 32 hits in three games. The bullpen will never feel completely fixed, but roles are being reevaluated and reinforcements are coming.
History shows that bad teams usually stay bad. Since the franchise’s inception in 1876, the Cubs have only three World Series titles to show for it. But each loss in a 162-game season can’t be treated like it’s the NFL or a referendum on Craig Counsell’s leadership, Jed Hoyer’s vision and the Ricketts family’s commitment to winning.
“It’s a game of failure,” Swanson said. “This game is not designed for you to be successful every time you go to the plate or every time you go to the mound. It’s really, really hard. But toughness is a learned quality, and this game will definitely make you better for it.”
Right now, the answers aren’t DFA-ing the entire bullpen, calling up anyone who has a good game at Triple-A Iowa, or trying to trade players who have no-trade clauses and little to no trade value at a time when most of the trade market is frozen. As frustrating as this may be to hear, the Cubs have to let some things play out first and continue telling themselves that this will work.
The Cubs aren’t unlucky when it’s almost halfway through the season and their record is 36-39. There’s been plenty of time to show that this rebuild is way ahead of schedule and make the case to be big buyers at the trade deadline. The club has significantly decreased its margin for error, and it will have to expend a lot of energy just to not get buried and claw above .500. It’s also not too late.
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“Our (mindset) is the same every day,” Swanson said. “We got a lot of more than capable guys in this clubhouse. We got a lot of guys that have been there and done that, and had successful careers and proven themselves to be really good hitters. We know that. And we believe that. We just got to keep going.”
Swanson, who’s in the second season of a seven-year, $177 million contract, was targeted for his Gold Glove defense at shortstop and experience in Atlanta’s winning program. The Braves were 44-45 at the 2021 All-Star break when they acquired Joc Pederson from the Cubs and made a series of moves to reshape what turned out to be a championship team.
Hoyer believes rival teams are still weeks away from getting serious about making deals and committing to sell-offs. In the meantime, the Cubs need their established hitters to produce. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have picked it up recently. Cody Bellinger remains a solidly above-average, well-rounded player who hasn’t gone on one of his MVP-level tears yet.
Swanson’s .660 OPS is 79 points lower than his career mark entering this year, though a knee injury slowed him down earlier this season and underlying numbers hinted at a breakout. He hit a home run in each of the wins over the Giants, boosting his June OPS to .827, and he’s known as a streaky hitter.
Dansby Swanson goes yard for the second straight game! pic.twitter.com/wMwY2JXW15
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 19, 2024
“Swing at good pitches, good things typically happen,” Swanson said. “Sometimes we overcomplicate this game just with so many different numbers, or matchups with this or that or the other thing. At some point, you just got to be on time for good pitches, and good things will start to come your way.”
It’s always about pitching, though, and the Cubs are fundamentally strong with a rotation anchored by Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon. The better-than-expected diagnosis of Ben Brown’s neck issue means the young pitcher should be reactivated much sooner than initially anticipated.
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The Cubs play in the right division (Central) and the right league (National), which gives them an easier path toward the postseason. The returns of Yency Almonte and Julian Merryweather are on the horizon, which should help Counsell organize the bullpen and make a difference in more of those one-run games (14-17). If the team’s personality seems a little detached or unemotional, at times, those same qualities can also help players recenter and keep things from spiraling.
Look at Hendricks, who lost his job in the rotation and was temporarily demoted to the bullpen and then came back to carry a no-hitter into the sixth inning of Wednesday’s win, showing why he’s the last player standing from the 2016 World Series team.
“Never once has he complained about anything,” Swanson said. “He’s shown up to do his job each and every day. There’s so many valuable life lessons in that, right? Sometimes when you get beat down a little bit, the best thing you can do is to continue to get back up and push forward. He’s shown that not only to himself, but to all of us in here. It’s the ability to persevere.”
That’s the story the Cubs will tell themselves if they make it to October.
“With this group and the resiliency that we have,” Swanson said, “we know that it’s going to continue to sharpen us for what’s to come over the next few months of baseball.”
(Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)