Craig Counsell finally delivers a lineup change that's weeks overdue at this point

After getting your teeth kicked in the way the Chicago Cubs did on Friday afternoon, there are no wrong answers. Craig Counsell shook the lineup up Saturday, slotting Michael Conforto into the two-spot, sliding Nico Hoerner over to shortstop and giving Pedro Ramirez the start at second.

What's that mean? Dansby Swanson is headed to the bench.

In pregame comments, Counsell emphasized that Swanson is healthy, but will get a couple of days off - a move that anyone who's watched this team with any regularity has been calling for since last month. With three years and more than $100 million left on his deal, the veteran infielder has looked lost at the plate, and has been a complete liability offensively.

Coming off Friday's blowout loss, Swanson is batting just .180 on the year - the third-lowest mark in baseball among qualified hitters. Another high-dollar infielder, Manny Machado, has been even worse and his long-term contract situation is even more of an issue for the Padres (eight more years and $300+ million remaining).

Cubs need Dansby Swanson to figure out some adjustments at the plate

This isn't a long-term fix. You can't just relegate Swanson to the bench for the next three years. The hope is a couple days off gives him a chance to mentally reset before the team's upcoming road trip. Yes, he had a big ninth-inning hit in Thursday's walk-off win, but the numbers speak for themselves.

Over the last seven days, he's batting just .105 with a .385 OPS. He's hit just .143 with a .224 on-base percentage over the last four weeks. His descent has been steep and sudden, and it's only exacerbated the problems this Cubs team have had, as a whole, including manufacturing offense and hitting with runners in scoring position.

Teams have pounded Swanson with breaking pitches away and he's yet to make any substantive adjustment in his approach, despite working with Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly to try and get back on track. This is one of the only levers left for Counsell to pull: now, we wait and see if there's any difference when he's back in the lineup next week in Denver and San Francisco.

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