Chicago Cubs shouldn't overlook one player's incredibly slow start to 2025 season

Life is pretty easy for the Chicago Cubs' offense right now. The Cubs' four-hit effort against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday notwithstanding, the Cubs' offense has been carrying the team.

Of course, the immediate reason for that success is Kyle Tucker. The arrival of Tucker provided instant confirmation of what the Cubs lacked last season--an impact bat that can hide other areas of deficiency on the roster.

One of those areas of deficiency last was shortstop Dansby Swanson. Thanks to a resurgent second half of the 2024 season, Swanson's offensive output returned to a notch below what you've come to expect from him--16 home runs and a 99 wRC+. Given his defensive value, Swanson still managed to compile a 4.3 fWAR

Tucker leading the Cubs' offense this season seems to have masked the fact that Swanson is off to another slow start offensively. Through his first 104 plate appearances this season, Swanson is slashing .177/.223/.344/59wRC+ with 4 home runs. While Swanson, during the first few series of the season, appeared to be an early beneficiary of the torpedo bat but that luck has worn off.

Dansby Swanson has played like a replacement-level player so far

Along those lines, it should be worth mentioning that part of Swanson's struggles are simply due to him being unlucky. Swanson's BABIP is incredibly low to open the season with a mark of .206. But it's not just bad luck. Swanson is currently striking out at a career-high clip of 28.8%. In short, Swanson is striking out more, and when he is putting the ball in play, he's not finding holes.

The difference with Swanson's struggles last year compared to his struggles this year is that his defense is making up for what his offense lacks. Swanson is carrying -0.1 fWAR on the season, and in part, that is because of some forgettable defensive metrics. Far from being a bad fielder this year, Swanson's range seems to have regressed to open the 2025 season, and if he doesn't have the range, that just emphasizes the lack of arm strength he has. In other words, Swanson has played like an average fielder at shortstop this season instead of the elite Gold Glover he has been over the course of his career.

Assuming there is no injury, the numbers suggest that Father Time is catching up with Swanson. This is not an ideal situation since he is under contract until 2030.